User Experience

Avoiding the Gremlins in the Customer Journey This Holiday Season
December 13, 2017 at 10:33 am

Fans of the 80’s cult-classic movie "Gremlins" will remember that it takes place around the holidays, as the cute little mogwai “Gizmo” is given as a gift. However, the exotic mogwai comes with three important rules: Don’t expose the mogwai to light (or it will die), don’t get it wet, and definitely don’t feed it…

Retailers Missing Out on Aftermarket Revenue Opportunities
December 11, 2017 at 9:21 am

Retailers have mastered the art of curating a superior customer experience up to the point of purchase, but new research indicates they're missing the mark when it comes to delivering the superior aftermarket experience today’s customer expects and, as importantly, they're missing out on new revenue opportunities. Ikea's recent acquisition of TaskRabbit, a sharing economy…

Macy's Suffers Credit Card Slowdown on Black Friday
November 27, 2017 at 12:31 pm

Macy's confirmed on Friday that it was suffering a credit card slowdown on one of the busiest and most important shopping days of the year. That trouble was resolved by Friday evening. "We have fully resolved today's system issues. We highly value our customers and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience today's system slowdown may have…

The Holiday Path to Purchase: Epsilon’s Shoppers Voice® Holiday Survey 2017
November 20, 2017 at 6:13 pm

As a retailer, you’re most likely in the throes of planning and embracing for what one can only expect to be another ultra-competitive holiday shopping season. Epsilon recently conducted its annual Holiday Shoppers Voice® survey of retail customers to find out what’s on their minds for the 2017 holiday shopping season. The survey asks customers about different aspects of their holiday shopping process and experience from planning and budgeting, marketing influences on shopping decisions, loyalty programs and promotions, social media, and their shopping location. Several questions include comparable results to previous year’s surveys to identify change in shopping behaviors.

Creating a Stress-Free In-Store Holiday Shopping Experience
November 9, 2017 at 11:34 am

It’s November and most retailers have been planning for the holiday season for several months. As brick-and-mortar establishments continue to evolve to compete with online competitors, it’s critical that retailers focus on those consumers who still plan to do their holiday shopping in-store, and how they can provide them with an enjoyable experience that meets…

The ‘Retail Crisis’ is Only a Crisis to Those That Didn't Evolve
November 8, 2017 at 10:58 am

The world of retail was rocked last month when Toys"R"Us filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Many took it as a bad omen or the proverbial “last gasp” of a dying industry. Headlines of a “Retail Crisis” permeated the news cycle and analysts poured over the reasons why — with most of the blame directed…

3 Retail Verticals Delivering Cutting-Edge Shopping Experiences
November 3, 2017 at 9:26 am

With the threat of online shopping, brick-and-mortar retailers have been forced to embrace the importance of the experiential aspect of their stores to drive repeat foot traffic. It takes something really compelling for the average consumer to go to a physical store instead of ordering whatever they need from the comfort of their own home.…

CX Metrics for Shop Closing Decisions — Choosing the Winners and Losers
October 23, 2017 at 3:38 pm

There’s currently a sea change happening in retail. Toys“R”Us recently announced bankruptcy, and as part of its restructuring plan, the retailer will be closing stores after the 2017 holiday season. J.C. Penney closed 138 stores, with most closing at the end of July and a few remaining open until the end of September 2017. Macy’s…

Are Retailers ‘Retail Revolution Ready’?
October 23, 2017 at 12:03 pm

There's no denying the massive shifts in the retail industry, but are retailers actually "retail revolution ready" to successfully engage with their customers? And no, “hello, welcome to the store” doesn't count! Retail, like most industries, is undergoing a transformation. The shopping experience is no longer a linear one, where a customer enters a store,…

Ready or Not, Digital-First Retail is Here
October 23, 2017 at 11:01 am

Supposedly, Tori Spelling once said, “bad shopping habits die hard.” The "Beverly Hills 90210" actress was probably talking about her own shopping habits, but in a larger sense, Spelling, who helped personify consumerism in the 1990s, when the mall was king and Amazon.com was merely another dot-com, pretty much nailed today’s retail business, where bad habits…