Technology

As retailers ramp up their planning for the 2019 holiday season, they need to prepare for a number of factors that can negatively impact website performance. It’s not enough to simply ensure there's sufficient network capacity for the traffic they're forecasting. First and foremost is security, and preventing the debilitating performance problems, including outages, that…

A recent report predicts that spending on artificial intelligence (AI) in retail will reach $7.3 billion by 2022, with 30 percent of it being allocated toward marketing automation. AI marketing has been disruptive in the retail industry by providing countless benefits to retailers of all sizes, from Fortune 500 companies to small e-commerce shops. These…

Apparel retail is infamous for extremely short collection cycles. This means that businesses are always pressured to get rid of old or surplus inventory to make room for new collections. In this time-sensitive scenario, retail teams usually prefer to clear off shelves at all costs. In many cases, retailers launch promos which attract customers and…

The trend toward cashless consumer payments has retailers preparing for an evolution at the point of sale (POS). With just 24 percent of Americans carrying cash on a regular basis, merchants will need to accommodate more convenient payment options to keep pace with evolving consumer preferences. A TSYS survey found that debit and credit cards…

Marketers may not consider customer data platforms (CDPs) as being key drivers of the return on investment of holiday season campaigns, but that’s exactly the role CDPs can and do play in an increasingly complex omnichannel retail landscape. Because CDPs provide a cleansed, de-duped and unified view of every customer profile, these platforms are the…

When it comes to shopping, convenience is key. The power of mobile technologies has only increased consumers’ expectations of an enhanced, yet immediate and user-friendly shopping experience. With common pain points like card entry information solved with digital wallets, retailers must move to minimize the drag of repeat purchasing, especially with frequently purchased products, or…

When we visited the topic of voice-enabled shopping last year, we concluded that brands and businesses looking to take advantage of the new medium would need to do some significant legwork across their ecosystems to promote the capability to customers and have their products appear properly. While that principle continues to hold true today, much…

Have you heard of the Vendors in Partnership (VIP) Awards? The awards program was created to celebrate innovation, empathy and excellence among the retail solution provider community. In addition to celebrating great product solutions, the companies that are recognized are those that are willing to make changes that are meaningful in creating a better partnership…

Powerful computing advances in recent years have enabled retailers to use artificial intelligence (AI) to help them realize their full potential. AI analytics uses machine learning to find differences and make assumptions automatically. A study by Business Insider suggests that as much as 85 percent of customer interactions will be controlled without a human by…

The optics on the health of the retail industry have been gloomy for some time now, with one old-school brand after another biting the dust on a regular basis, according to major headlines. More often than not, the blame lands on online brands and big-box giants like Amazon.com or Walmart, which are relatively easy targets…