User Experience

U.S. Department of Commerce figures show that even with many retail outlets closed for several weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, total retail sales rose 4 percent between January and June 2020. Much of this was driven by a 30 percent increase in e-commerce spending. Now, a new Pollfish survey shows nearly 77 percent of…

The pandemic has changed everything in retail — and it’s not ending anytime soon. Just as stores started to adjust to the “new normal” of frequent disinfection and face masks, the spread of the virus is picking back up in regions across the country, forcing many retailers to close their doors to the public again.…

Walking into a brick-and-mortar store today feels a bit apocalyptic. Employees now don gloves, facemasks and even the occasional face shield for added protection. There are stickers meticulously placed at six-foot intervals in front of checkout counters to help consumers abide by social distancing rules. Plexiglass shields now act as a protective barrier between cashiers…

Almost nine months after COVID-19 started making its mark on the United States, lockdown restrictions and widespread working-from-home offices have caused many American consumers to rethink their shopping habits. While we still don’t know exactly when the pandemic will be declared over, what is clear is that the post-pandemic retail world will be different to…

It was early 2020. Retail was confident it had the right marketing strategies, technology and understanding to reach and guide customers, no matter where they were and under any circumstance. Then suddenly everything changed and one of the very few unanticipated scenarios came into being. A pandemic required everyone to hunker down, undermined confidence, raised…

This year, retailers will need to capture the imagination of consumers as they consider the holiday season like no other. Immersive online experiences that are beautiful, personal, innovative and value driven will rule the season across every price point. To deliver a digital customer experience that's memorable and engaging for the 2020 holiday season, most…

2020 has been a year marked by a series of uncertainties. Many companies have seemingly been flying blind the past several months, attempting to weather the fallout from our COVID-19 new normal and pivot their operations in response to our anticipated next normal. Many business leaders are understandably somewhat disoriented by the rapid changes we've…

When the first 3G-enabled iPhone launched with much fanfare in June 2008, nobody knew what an app economy could look like. Yet within a decade, the smartphone, propelled by the adoption of 3G and 4G technologies, has upended the world of commerce. The Digital Transformation Over the past decade, digital has made it easier to…

COVID-19 has taken a significant and tragic toll on communities around the world, impacting seemingly every part of how societies have traditionally interacted and engaged with one another. Retail is no exception; the industry was already in a significant period of digital evolution — though not without growing pains. Online retail sales were up about…

As the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we all shop, work and interact, the digital customer experience has solidified its place as the most important aspect of retail businesses. These past months, IT teams have been feeling more pressure than ever before to make each customer's digital interaction perfect. According to the recent Agents…