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Ensuring a responsive web store is no longer an option, but an essential element of a retailer's environment. It can be a simple process. As a very basic outline of the steps involved, retailers can begin with the following questions:

For a while now, retailers have been bombarded from all sides to get their mobile sites in order to avoid getting overlooked by mobile shoppers. I'm sure you've searched for something on your smartphone and noticed the gray words "Mobile-friendly" after the URL in some of the top results. As of tomorrow, Google is upping the ante by prioritizing mobile-friendly sites in its new search algorithm. This means that the time for mobile in retail is now — and every other industry for that matter. Mobile optimization quickly went from a nice to have to a must have

Online merchants have already proven they're willing to share the most precious of proprietary data with Google, even transactions, pricing and tracking data in the case of Google Trusted Stores. But are they willing to hand over shoppers’ email addresses? Many people are familiar with ads that follow them around the internet, called retargeting or remarketing.

At the Demandware XChange conference in Las Vegas this week, Kyle Phillips, director of e-commerce technology at Carter's; and Michael Valeiko, director e-commerce development, and Lukas Agrapidis, director of e-commerce technology, both of Sleepy's, talked about how their brands are using geolocation to drive customer engagement and conversions.

As widely expected, Europe's antitrust chief, Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, has issued a formal Statement of Objections (SO) regarding the operation of Google's shopping search comparison service — marking the latest step in a five-year long antitrust investigation and an escalation of European anti-competition action against Mountain View.

If merchants needed any more evidence of the increasing importance of optimizing their sites for mobile commerce, Google is about to weigh in in a big way. Beginning April 21, Google is rolling out a "mobile friendly" update to its algorithm that the company says will have a "significant impact" on results for searches made on mobile devices. In an effort to give mobile users more useful search experiences, the new algorithm will give greater weight in its rankings to sites that are easy to navigate on mobile phones and tablets, such as those using responsive design principles.

The digital disruption of retail and commerce is transforming retailers' customer interactions. It's evolving into a far more flexible, seamless omnichannel fulfillment model, which is critical for retailers' continued success, viability and relevance. Online and mobile commerce has grown significantly in size and scale, leading to the misguided perception that brick-and-mortar stores are becoming obsolete. Rather, it's simply become more important for retailers to revitalize the in-store shopping experience in a way that's compelling, interesting and personalized for an increasingly empowered, informed and socially connected consumer.

Every morning, you check for three things before you leave the house: phone, wallet and keys. But what if you only needed to look for two or even one? The solution to this equation is the digital wallet, and tech giants such as Google, Apple and PayPal have already revolutionized the mobile payments space.

Understanding the complexities of product listing ads (PLAs) is critical to success in the channel. From mobile bidding to creating smart product groups, this e-book offers five key rules you must follow to maximize your investment and win at the ultracompetitive PLA game.

Social media is a valuable marketing tool retailers of all sizes and industries should use. Consumers spend a lot of time on social media sites, and retailers should take advantage of this. In comparison to many outbound marketing practices, social media is a simple, cost-effective tool for retailers to reach consumers and lead them to their website, as well as convert leads into sales. Here are four easy ways retailers can use social media to successfully market their business: