Software

Preparing for the Holidays: A 101 in Web Performance Optimization
December 1, 2015 at 10:21 am

Holiday sales traditionally constitute a huge portion of retailers’ annual revenue, and there’s a lot at stake in the upcoming season. According to PwC, web sales for the overall retail sector will see a mid- to high-teens percentage increase over last year, with the leading retailers poised for a 40 percent to 50 percent increase.…

Back-to-School: A Prep Course for Peak Holiday Season
October 13, 2015 at 12:44 pm

Every year the back-to-school (BTS) season means something different for incoming students. One year it might mean multiplication tables, the next it could be long division, U.S. history or organizational chemistry. However, one thing that students expect every year — regardless of the actual course work — is that their work load will increase and…

Has Amazon Cracked the Problem With In-App Payments?
August 31, 2015 at 11:32 am

There’s an experience familiar to nearly anyone who’s downloaded a game on their smartphone. Try as you might to conquer the latest level/village/candy, your thumbs lack the speed/agility/candy to get you through. With deep regret, you purchase an item or expansion pack to continue your long march toward distraction. If every time you do this…

Lessons From Enterprise RFID Deployments
June 29, 2015 at 3:28 pm

The use of handheld RFID readers for retail cycle counting and inventory management is exploding — and for good reason. They’re inexpensive, tangible and convenient, and provide a familiar form factor for store associates. However, while handhelds are well suited for initial retail pilots, deploying them in scaled-up enterprise environments requires careful thought and planning.…

M.Fredric Gains Inventory Control Through New POS System, Part 1
June 16, 2015 at 2:59 pm

M.Fredric is a California-based apparel retailer that sells its products via nine brick-and-mortar stores and an e-commerce website. Like many omnichannel brands, managing inventory levels in real time to prevent out-of-stocks and overstocks was a challenge for M.Fredric. In addition, a lack of real-time sales data meant buying decisions were delayed, a serious inhibitor for…

Patience is an Absent Virtue During Peak Shopping Events
June 16, 2015 at 2:41 pm

Patience is a virtue, but unfortunately it’s not one that that e-tailers can count on from their customers, especially when it comes to peak digital shopping events like Mother’s Day. Consumer impatience and demand for consistently high performance and speed is a well-documented fact in today’s digital economy. The so called "Google effect" has drained…

What’s the X Factor in A/B Testing?
June 3, 2015 at 3:02 pm

Sometimes marketing can feel a little bit like a science experiment. You get an idea, make a plan, put it in action, test it, and see if it you’ve found the secret formula. Of course, the truth is there’s no secret formula. In reality, the biggest X factor in achieving success through your A/B testing…

Mapping Your Marketplace Moves
May 4, 2015 at 2:00 am

Hear a study in short-term versus long-term marketplaces strategies and how one company has made it a driving force for their sales.

How Nordstrom Ensures its Website Will Perform at 100% This Holiday Season
November 25, 2014

It's a scenario that's unfortunately all-too-common for retailers: You create an exciting sale or product event during the busy holiday season, and a flood of shoppers come online to scoop up the deals. But soon after the merchandise is posted, your site begins to waver and then crash due to the weight of the increased traffic. How can you ensure consumers enjoy a secure, fast and engaging shopping experience — and one that doesn't crash — on your website this holiday season? To find out, I spoke with Gopal Brugalette, the applied architect for Nordstrom's performance engineering team