User Experience

For better or worse, e-commerce has truly transformed the traditional shopping experience at brick-and-mortar retail locations. Customers visiting a physical store have greater expectations for a product to be in stock and priced competitively with similar retailers or online shopping outlets such as Amazon.com. They expect stellar customer service, because it would be even easier, if not more convenient,…

The busy holiday season is almost over for BuySeasons, Inc., the parent company to two costume brands, BuyCostumes.com and CostumeExpress.com. That's because its holiday season is the months of September and October, when the online retailer with a product catalog of more than 1 million customizable costume and accessory combinations does 75 percent of its…

Retailers should waste no time in preparing for this year’s holiday shopping season. Before you know it, consumers will begin searching for the fastest, most convenient way to snag every last item on their holiday wish list. From an e-commerce website to traditional brick-and-mortar stores, offering more than one purchasing channel is an important first step, but it may not be enough to stand out from the competition. By implementing an omnichannel strategy that enables data…

A perfect storm of demographics, economics and technology is taking direct aim at the retail industry. Demographically, millennials have become the largest consumer group. And this group has expectations and habits that retailers must accommodate. Along with this demographic change, the physical economy of retail is quickly shifting. Clearly, the brick-and-mortar store isn't dead. In fact, McKinsey…

Over the past two years, we've examined the activity of hundreds of millions of global shoppers to identify trends and measure the pace of change in digital commerce. Using this data, we produce a quarterly shopping index that describes consumer engagement with retailers. The most striking feature of the data — beyond digital commerce's continued growth — is…

This webinar examines consumers’ buying behaviors across global markets to help retailers better serve their payment wants and needs.

Consumers are abandoning carts on e-commerce sites at an alarmingly high rate. And they’re doing so when they get to the checkout page.

In the age of the empowered and informed customer, there’s increased attention on how to maximize a brand’s customer experience along the buying journey. But while many improvements are centered on technological changes, there are existing historical silos involving people and information, rather than channels. These disconnects waste important customer-facing resources, hide relevant content and adversely impact the sales cycle.

Back-to-school (BTS) is one of the most important shopping seasons of the year. According to the National Retail Federation, total spending for both K-12 and college supplies is expected to reach $75.8 billion this year. The weeks before the beginning of the school season are a busy time for shoppers and retailers. While parents prioritize…

If you’re a parent, you’re probably thinking ahead to the holiday shopping season. If you’re an online retailer, this is a big season for your business. As you prepare to manage the hordes of parents who will descend on your site, here are some stats to keep in mind about today’s parents, their spending habits, and what…