Microsoft Corp.

The way we work, live, and shop has changed. Retailers are rapidly adapting to meet the evolving needs of their customers, drastic shifts in demand, and contactless environments. Discover strategies to adapt and respond during this time such as enabling teams anywhere and offering remote sales and services.

Microsoft is reportedly working on technology that would eliminate cashiers and checkout lines from stores, six people familiar with the matter told Reuters this week. More specifically, the software giant is developing a system that tracks what shoppers add to their carts. Reportedly, Microsoft has shown sample technology to several global retailers and has had talks…

Microsoft and Starbucks are joining forces to boost your inbox with a caffeine jolt. According to a Microsoft blog post, both companies released a plugin that allows Microsoft Outlook users to email Starbucks’ electronic gift cards and set up meetings at nearby Starbucks locations. Users have to install the add-in, then connect to a Starbucks…

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our newest feature, Total Retail Report’s In the News section, where we will highlight and offer our take on the top retail-related news articles of the day. Please let us know what you think about this new feature by posting a comment below. Walgreens Ends Theranos Partnership Walgreens announced last week that it…

“Details create the big picture,” said Sanford Weill, former chairman of Citigroup. In the e-commerce arena, this is most true at the pinnacle of your funnel: the checkout. Checkout is online retail’s make-or-break moment. It's the culmination of the customer journey — the moment when a shopper either feels comfortable enough to take out his…

Microsoft's stores have a warm decor, plenty of helpful staffers and an array of PCs, phones and devices. They could use a few more customers, though. It's hard to know exactly how the stores are doing since Microsoft won't comment on either sales or traffic figures. It is fair to say, though, that it's not uncommon…

Microsoft chose a busy day to hold the grand opening of its Fifth Avenue retail store. Yesterday marked the launch of the company's new Surface products, including the Surface Book and Surface Pro 4. And later, the new Microsoft Store (and countless other retailers) held a midnight launch for the release of Halo 5 for…

There's an old saying quoted at the beginning of each entry in Michael Apted's critically acclaimed "Up" documentary series, which checks in on the lives of 14 individuals every seven years: "Show me the child until the age of seven and I will show you the man." It just happens that both e-commerce and Bitcoin are celebrating similar divisible-by-seven anniversary milestones this year, giving us reason to reflect on their beginnings and anticipate where they'll be seven years from now.

When talking about retail, we're often left wondering, what's next? What are some of the technologies that will revolutionize the retail industry going forward? So, as far as what may be next for retail, after virtual reality technologies have established themselves, this is the next stage: haptic retail. Enabling online shoppers to not just see a product, but to touch it, feel it and truly evaluate it from every possible angle from the comfort of their own home.

Retail Online Integration's fifth annual list of the leading women executives in omnichannel retail features some of the brightest minds in the industry. This year's nominees were chosen for being in a top-level position within an omnichannel retail organization, along with several other criteria, including their scope of responsibility, achievements within their own companies, and their involvement within the retail industry. Take advantage of this opportunity to learn about the career paths of some of today's leading retail experts, as well as find out what they believe will be the top tip for omnichannel retail success in 2015.