Omnichannel
September 1, 2015
It’s hard to believe, but 2015 is rapidly coming to a close. Therefore, that means it’s time for my annual roundup of omnichannel retail predictions for the year ahead. As in years past, I’m focusing on a few interesting trends I saw come to light this year that I believe will become even more widespread next year. Here goes!
August 28, 2015 at 11:09 am
The 2014 holiday season generated a whopping $616.1 billion in revenue, with e-commerce accounting for $101.9 billion of the Christmas shopping pie. And 2015 is on track to be even bigger. A recent eMarketer report estimated increases of 3.2 and 14.4 percent for overall and e-commerce purchases respectively, rounding out holiday sales at an anticipated…
August 26, 2015 at 11:30 am
We’ve been hearing about the "Store of the Future" for some time now. Retail executives have spent the past 18 months experimenting with digital store technologies such as contextual digital displays, in-store sensors, beacons and analytics. These early pilot projects have yielded some successes, increasing customer convenience and unlocking new value as shoppers opt to…
August 20, 2015 at 2:29 pm
Ms. Wesson and Aimee Cho, her business partner, have, after all, poured their style convictions into 1.61, a year-old gender-free label built largely on loosefitting trousers, swagger coats and easy shirts — items that they wear themselves and offer in varying sizes to both women and men. They are among the latest in a raft…
August 14, 2015 at 7:48 pm
Over 1,500 top retailers gathered in Boston this week for eTail East to discuss e-commerce trends and share ideas on the future of online retail. Here’s a recap and the top lessons I’m taking home from this jam-packed four-day event. Top Retailing Themes at eTail East We often talk about the idea that “content is…
August 6, 2015 at 3:25 pm
Target, the second largest general merchandise retailer in the U.S., announced this morning that it will start testing beacon technology in 50 of its stores nationwide. With beacon technology, the company says it will be able to send information about deals as well as recommendations directly to consumers’ smartphones, provided they opt in to receive…
August 3, 2015 at 2:46 pm
Retail was a vast and varied industry even before the internet, mobile devices and a host of other technologies transformed consumer behaviors and expectations. Since then, the gradual changes implied by retail “evolution” have been replaced by enormously transformational leaps. Despite this ever-growing complexity, I believe retail today is being shaped (or reshaped) by three…
July 30, 2015 at 3:42 pm
Retailers large and small are looking to integrate the expanding channels through which they interact with consumers, from store to phone to tablet to computer, and back to the store. Whether we’re looking at mega-retailers like Wal-Mart and Home Depot or the modestly sized U.K.-based noodle shop chain Wagamama, the push is toward connecting a…
July 30, 2015 at 2:34 pm
The shopping cart icon you see on a retailer’s website has a lot to say about the current state and future challenges of omnichannel retail. On the surface, a shopping cart is simply a tool for shoppers to purchase items or save them to a wish list. As you dissect the cart further, however, it…
July 9, 2015 at 2:30 pm
This June, the headlines exploded with story after story about Facebook offering free beacons to retailers. Finally, the potential to bring e-commerce-level shopper engagement to brick-and-mortar stores through beacons became more plausible. Since Facebook has a massive, always-on user base, this opens doors for widespread beacon use, overcoming the major hurdle of beacons relying on…
