Technology

As the retail industry continues to evolve, generative artificial intelligence is emerging as a transformative technology. However, before retailers decide to invest in this technology, it's crucial for them to carefully consider several factors to ensure that their investment aligns with their strategic goals and delivers the expected results. Below are five key steps that…

The end-of-year holiday season brings an extra layer of stress to the retail industry contact center agent’s work, and even if that stress diminishes after Christmas Day, the reprieve is short. Christmas quickly becomes New Year’s, then Valentine’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, and so on. In our consumer-driven culture, the “holiday sale”…

Total Retail values your insights as a retail executive. As such, we request your participation in a brief survey (less than 10 minutes to complete) about your organization's technology usage and needs, both current and future. All survey data will be reported on anonymously. The survey data collected will serve as the foundation for the…

Artificial intelligence integration is coming of age in the retail industry. Eighty percent of retailers are expected to adopt AI within the next three years, and according to a recent IDC Europe study, 40 percent of retailers are already in the experimentation phase with generative AI. While generative AI (think AI assistants and ChatGPT) is…

U.S. consumers have proven themselves a resilient bunch. In the face of persistently high interest rates and continued inflationary stress, they’ve maintained spending. But as a retailer, you cannot afford to take this for granted. In fact, we’re starting to see the first signs that the American consumer might be about to buckle under the…

Online retail and e-commerce providers are struggling to meet shopper expectations amidst ongoing inflation, higher costs and lingering supply chain woes. A new independent survey that queried nearly 2,000 global shoppers found that 88 percent of U.S. and 79 percent of U.K. shoppers said that online retailers delivered poor experiences at least once in the…

The world of artificial intelligence (AI) is full of unexpected developments that often defy our initial intuition. The interesting part of what may transpire over the coming years are the trends that are counterintuitive. Rather than me writing these by myself, I decided to co-author the top counterintuitive trends in AI with ChatGPT. Each illustrates…

Shoptalk always brings the best and brightest minds of the industry together for four days packed with insights, networking opportunities, trend predictions and so much more. This year, the spring event in Las Vegas was no exception. But like many other major industry events, Shoptalk can feel like you’re sprinting a marathon — there's so…

Last year was rocky in tech. However, despite a slowdown in the industry, investments in digital transformation are growing — the global market is expected to reach $6.8 trillion by 2032. Forward-thinking organizations are looking to MACH-based (microservices, API-first, cloud-native, and headless) and composable architectures to gain complete control over their digital commerce ecosystems. According…

The psychological connection between sound and human recall has long been scientifically established, with certain sounds having the power to transport us back to a moment in time, jog a memory, or even a feeling. The tune of an ice cream truck in the distance, for instance, conjures up the warm memories of childhood summers.…