Technology

In episode 334 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Mike Relich, co-CEO of PacSun, the California lifestyle clothing, shoes and accessories brand for teens and young adults. Relich discusses his recent presentation at the 2022 National Retail Federation Big Show, outlining the business challenges that developed during the COVID-19 pandemic as omnichannel shopping…

If there’s one major takeaway from last week's National Retail Federation's (NRF) Big Show, it’s that the accelerated evolution of the retail industry and shift to digital channels isn’t letting up anytime soon. NRF announced that e-commerce spending was up 11.3 percent during the 2021 holiday season, providing further evidence that online shopping continues to grow…

As frictionless commerce continues to grow in popularity, retailers are identifying how to integrate the innovative technology into their overall business strategy. To do so, they must determine whether to evolve existing solutions or revolutionize existing processes to keep up with competition. While there are benefits to both approaches, there are three key considerations retailers…

In order to delight customers in a post-pandemic world, retailers must optimize an increasingly delicate balance between technology and a human touch. The bar for personalized experiences continues to rise, with 95 percent of shoppers adamant that they don't want to talk to a robot, and 84 percent say being “treated like a person and…

Everyone talks about how to make the most of their data. Data impacts everything, from customer onboarding, distribution, and omnichannel payment flows. As data volumes grow, they also expand in complexity. As the world becomes increasingly digital, it’s creating a tsunami of data, which many businesses weren't prepared for, especially in the wake of the…

For the past decade, brands have scrambled to serve millennials. Now, brands are reinventing themselves for the next wave of shoppers — Gen Z, or "zoomers," as they're also known. Aged between 13 and 21, zoomers are gearing up to enter the workforce and are fast becoming a formidable force in the economy. Brightpearl’s own…

Headless e-commerce has become a popular option for digital brands. Over the past two years, investors have poured $1.6 billion into headless opportunities, and any number of startups and established e-commerce players have launched new technologies or products intended to ride the wave. After navigating three generations of e-commerce technology at both startups and Fortune…

Immersive experiences, and the blend of technologies that deliver them, are driving improvements in customer and employee experience (EX). According to Forrester, a quarter of remote workers will have intelligence automation support and 25 percent of brands will significantly enhance their CX by the end of 2021, thanks in part to immersive CX and EX…

Since the pandemic, consumers have become more accustomed to buying and shopping online, with a recent study finding that over 75 percent of people are doing so at least once a month. Primarily, people cite convenience as the main reason why they choose to continue to shop online. Nevertheless, purchasing a product online has become so convenient…

Parts of the world may be entering the post-pandemic era, but this doesn’t mean that the sweeping changes brought about by COVID-19 are going away soon. Quarantines and lockdowns forced people to spend more time at home, leading them to pick up new hobbies (like baking bread) and develop new habits (like using their smart…