Technology

Total Retail Releases its 2020 Retail Technology Report
March 26, 2020 at 2:42 pm

In order to keep pace in a hypercompetitive retail environment, as well as meet the increasing demands of fickle and fragmented consumers, retailers and brands are looking to technology for help. This extends to all facets of their businesses, from consumer-facing brick-and-mortar stores and digital properties, to back-end systems and solutions that are powering marketing,…

How the IoT Can Help Retailers Get Ahead
March 25, 2020 at 2:36 pm

From Kmart to Forever 21, numerous retail brands closed locations, laid off employees, and filed for bankruptcy in 2019. While the drivers behind these unfortunate circumstances varied, most resulted from a failure to digitally transform — i.e., an inability to successfully use modern tools to best engage target customers. To avoid similar fates, retailers today…

Don’t Get Caught on the Wrong Side of the AI Divide
March 23, 2020 at 2:58 pm

A growing chasm is cutting through the retail sector. Amazon.com and other retailers that are embracing artificial intelligence (AI) and omnichannel strategies are on one side. On the other side are businesses that are not investing in new technology and the future. If members of the second group don’t get moving on AI fast, they'll…

How Disruptive Retail Tech Can Meet the Needs of Today’s Agile Consumers
March 20, 2020 at 12:55 pm

It’s easy to get lost in a myriad of different technology solutions. But if we don’t connect technology with a real problem we’re looking to solve, we miss the point. Tech specifics tend to change over time as technology matures and customer expectations become clearer. Therefore, brands need to ensure they can meet the needs…

How AI and IoT Will Digitize the Physical World
March 17, 2020 at 2:19 pm

It’s been well-documented that new technologies — in particular, artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) — will change our digital lives, but their uses extend even further than we may realize. By 2023, the worldwide number of IoT-connected devices is predicted to increase to 43 billion, three times more than 2018. With such…

Social Media Sales at Scale: Best Practices for Digital-First Retailers
March 13, 2020 at 3:35 pm

Consumers today have more choices than ever before when it comes to the items that curate their life, which can often rely on the latest trends or fashion statements. When it comes to keeping up with timely demands, retailers often struggle to keep their shelves stocked with the latest trending item at any given time.…

The Future of Customer Support and its Impact on Retail
March 13, 2020 at 1:52 pm

Customer support is evolving at a rapid rate, and many brands are reimagining the impact that a retailer’s support team can have on their customer’s experience and their overall business. However, while there's plenty of change happening today, it’s critical for brands to always keep an eye on the trends impacting tomorrow. Here's a look…

Where Artificial Intelligence Meets Emotional Intelligence: 3 Steps to Strategic Retail Pricing Transformation
March 12, 2020 at 2:20 pm

For all the talk about the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to drive meaningful transformation for retailers that want to reinvent themselves for today's demanding renvironment, many companies fall short of harnessing the full benefits of AI and analytics for actionable insights. That’s because many of these attempts fail to take into account the human…

Amazon Now Offering Checkout-Free Tech to Retailers
March 9, 2020 at 2:17 pm

Amazon.com confirmed today that it's launching a new business line selling the technology behind its cashier-less convenience stores to other retailers. In addition, Amazon told Reuters it has signed “several” deals with customers it would not name. The technology, which Amazon calls Just Walk Out, enables shoppers to enter a store, grab merchandise, and go. Here's how it works: In…