Software

4 Ways to Get Your Website Back-to-School Ready
July 20, 2016 at 10:40 am

The back-to-school shopping season is upon us, and retailers’ e-commerce sites should be prepared for a shopping frenzy. eMarketer forecasts that this year's back-to-school sales will total $828.81 billion, a 2.6 percent increase over 2015. Furthermore, the e-commerce portion of back-to-school sales will continue to grow, jumping 15.3 percent this year to $65.42 billion. That…

Apple Teaching Coding Skills to Next Generation
June 23, 2016 at 12:39 pm

This summer, Apple is teaching children the basics of coding in its retail stores. For three days, kids 8-12 will use Tynker software to learn coding and then program Sphero robots. Apple Camp began in 2003 as a way to introduce technology and Apple products to kids, but this is the first year a coding…

Digital Performance Management in the Age of ‘Retail Everywhere’
May 20, 2016 at 9:57 am

When milliseconds are the difference between success and failure, retailers cannot afford to ignore their digital performance. Retail is at the forefront of a massively disruptive digital transformation. We have entered the era of “retail everywhere” with hyper-connected, 24/7, omnichannel digital consumers who have high expectations for their online experiences. They want retailers to know them, serve them, delight them and not waste their time.

Why Planning Systems Must Be Priority for Retailers
May 11, 2016 at 8:55 am

It’s no surprise to learn that retailers are in a rapid investment period in terms of IT systems. Historically slow to invest in technology, retailers are now playing catchup in an arena that punishes slow-movers. A retail CIO is faced with the daunting challenge of solving a myriad of complex issues fast, including: delivering the…

Growers House Plants Seeds for a Better Omnichannel Experience
May 5, 2016 at 12:48 pm

Growers House, a family owned-and-operated hydroponics supply and indoor gardening center in Tucson, Ariz., was in the market for a retail management platform that would help it integrate data across its various business channels — retail store, e-commerce site, online marketplaces (Amazon.com, eBay), wholesale. Having to manage all of that data, from customer data to…

Amazon.com Goes Down for 20 Minutes, the World Freaks Out
March 11, 2016 at 8:14 am

Amazon.com went down for some users on Thursday afternoon for approximately 20 minutes before being restored. Users trying to access the Amazon website as well as the mobile app at around 2:20 p.m. ET were greeted with error messages. During the outage, many users took to Twitter to vent their frustration.

What E-Tailers Can Learn From Financial Trading Systems
March 10, 2016 at 11:51 am

From a revenue standpoint, what would you lose if your site was to go dark for 40 minutes? Where would your customers go? As we close the book on this past holiday season and look back on the e-commerce frenzy, I can’t help but reflect on this loss and how it might be avoided. To…