Technology

Key Findings From the 2019 Retail Technology Report
August 2, 2019 at 11:29 am

In this week’s Retail Right Now, Total Retail's Joe Keenan and Kristina Stidham discuss the release of Total Retail’s 2019 Retail Technology Report, which was produced in conjunction with Arm Treasure Data, an enterprise customer data platform. This third annual report was based on a survey of Total Retail’s audience about their current usage of…

Total Retail's 2019 Retail Technology Report: Omnichannel Technology Spending on the Rise
July 31, 2019 at 11:17 am

Due to the cross-channel behavior of today’s consumers, shifting from channel to channel and device to device in the same purchase journey, retailers and brands are spending more of their technology budgets on systems and solutions that enable omnichannel operations — e.g., order and inventory management systems. At the same time, they've yet to fully…

Key Strategies for Retailers Balancing AI and the Human Touch
July 31, 2019 at 10:46 am

According to recent data, the majority of retailers think artificial intelligence (AI) will be a competitive necessity in the next few years. This comes as no surprise, with the expansive list of benefits that AI brings to the retail industry, including improved customer experience, reduced operational costs and increased efficiency. As retailers are rushing to…

Could Blockchain Be the Key to Unleashing a New Era of Consumer Relevance at Scale?
July 24, 2019 at 9:14 am

Blockchain is a game changer for supply chain traceability. And that opens up a huge range of new possibilities for consumer goods brands to drive growth — delivering hyper-relevant customer experiences, engendering deeper customer relationships, and offering something that’s “just right” in the moment. Central to this is transparency. Today’s consumers are more concerned than…

Salesforce Connections Urges Retailers to Up Their Shopper Experience Game
July 23, 2019 at 9:41 am

Attendees at the Salesforce Connections conference in Chicago last month were met with stories of innovation, forward-thinking leaders in e-commerce, and even got their fists pumping with the event’s legendary annual concert. The theme this year was strongly focused on shopper experience, and how the right technology and some out-of-the box approaches can really make…

Digital Transformation by Christmas: What Retailers Still Aren’t Getting Right With Technology
July 19, 2019 at 11:02 am

In both retail and marketing, there’s a “conversation” with customers in some way. Whether it’s merchandising, in-home or digital flyers, banner ads, in-store marketing, events, or email, every day there's communication with customers to see what works. What was the magical “thing” that resulted in the purchase decision? One of the biggest shifts over the…

How is Wireless Power Impacting the Retail Industry?
July 18, 2019 at 1:31 pm

With the growing preference for online shopping, combined with customers who can instantly compare prices and reviews with their smartphones, the expectations and needs of the brick-and-mortar shopper are rapidly evolving. As a result, physical retailers have been in a race to deploy new technologies to provide a better experience in the hopes of keeping…

Network Connectivity Essential for a Successful Smart Store Revolution
July 18, 2019 at 10:01 am

Shopping carts doubling as a cashier, personalized promotions to your phone depending on where you are in the store, and ordering your weekly groceries without lifting a finger — these are just some of the exciting technological advancements that are hitting retail outlets all over the United States. With retail technology advancing rapidly, retailers are…

The Interplays of Technology in Retail: Driving Superior Customer Service
July 17, 2019 at 12:55 pm

As we live and breathe in the age of technology, retailers look to compete in customer service by adding new technology into the infrastructure. Technology promises to eliminate friction, deepen customer engagement, uncover insights, and automate processes. In fact, one could argue that artificial intelligence (AI) is reviving retail. Take chatbot-based interactions for retail sales,…