Omnichannel

Using Weather Data to Boost Holiday Retail Prep
December 15, 2017 at 8:13 am

The holiday shopping season can be the bow on your retail year … or the coal in your stocking if you fail to plan properly for consumer demand. Weather affects everything in your retail operation, from shipping to buyer behavior, and understanding how to manage these effects is key to your seasonal success. Shelves of…

Is Your Brand Ready for This Year's Holiday Retail Trends?
December 15, 2017 at 7:37 am

No industry has been more impacted by digital transformation than retail. In fact, it’s frighteningly easy to identify which retailers have embraced change and which remain mired in technologic antiquity. There’s no better time to commit to a digital revolution than during retailing prime time: the holiday shopping season. While many big-box retailers have lost…

How to Take a Page From Sephora’s Subscription PLAY! Book
December 15, 2017 at 6:29 am

More and more brick-and-mortar retailers are jumping onto the subscription bandwagon. Take Sephora, for example. When the makeup retailer launched its subscription box, PLAY! by Sephora, customers felt like they were pushing “play” on a customized mix from someone who knew all their favorite songs. Each box includes five deluxe cosmetic products, from old favorites to…

Why 2018 Will Be the Year of Brick-and-Mortar Retail
December 14, 2017 at 1:24 pm

Technology is already everywhere and is becoming a bigger part of our lives every day. More than 93 percent of American adults under 50 use the internet, and 77 percent of Americans own a smartphone. It’s no wonder that consumers believe online shopping is the future of retail, with 52 percent of global consumers shopping…

Deborah Yeh, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Brand, Sephora
December 13, 2017 at 5:58 pm

“We have a huge penetration of omnichannel clients who use [e-commerce and brick-and-mortar] harmoniously. People want to experience things both ways — the conversation is less about splitting the channels and more about leveraging the trend.”

How AI Transforms Online Shoppers Into In-Store Shoppers
December 13, 2017 at 10:29 am

What motivates a consumer to walk into a store to make a purchase rather than shop online? Instant gratification? The inspiration that only comes from touch and smell? With 67 percent of the Gen Zs surveyed by IBM and the National Retail Federation preferring to shop in-store vs. 22 percent who favor online, there are tangible…

Retailers Still Far From Delivering True Omnichannel, Report Finds
December 12, 2017 at 10:15 am

The future of the retail industry is mobile. However, retailers have been slow to progress in this area, and brands need help with omnichannel. Most consumers shop with their smartphone in hand while visiting a brick-and-mortar store, and they’ve been trained by the likes of Apple, Amazon.com and Uber to expect a seamless mobile experience…

5 Benefits of Parcel Lockers Every Retailer Should Know
December 11, 2017 at 1:11 pm

There are many reasons why customers opt to use parcel lockers, but the greatest appeal is that they're convenient and cheaper than home delivery. Customers not only want to use these click-and-collect solutions as a final-mile delivery option, but also as a way to handle returns. To gain a competitive advantage and offer customers the…

Home Depot to Double Investment on Stores, E-Commerce
December 8, 2017 at 10:45 am

Home Depot is working to stay ahead of the retail curve. At its investor meeting on Wednesday, the home supplies company said it would roughly double its investment in the next three fiscal years to nearly $11.1 billion to expand its store and e-commerce businesses. Fortune reports the new budget will help cover items like…

Top Omnichannel Tips of 2017
December 6, 2017 at 2:47 pm

An annual feature for Total Retail, the 50 Best Tips offer retail executives insights and information on a wide variety of business functions, including omnichannel, content marketing, data security, pricing, social media, and more.