Solutions

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.

In this Q&A with Dan Leberman, vice president and general manager of PayPal's North American Online Small and Medium Business Unit, we discuss the digital marketing trends that figure to impact retailers the most in 2015, from social commerce to international expansion to marketing automation and more. 

The internet has flattened competition for retailers, big and small, and that means you have to build a personal connection with each shopper rather than compete for their wallets based on price. As competition in e-commerce continues to grow, global marketing campaigns have to become more tactical and focused. Here's how retailers can do that:

The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that warehouse workers who fill orders for retail giant Amazon.com don't have to be paid for time spent waiting to pass through security checks at the end of their shifts. The unanimous decision is a victory for the growing number of retailers and other companies that routinely screen workers to prevent employee theft. The justices said federal law doesn't require companies to pay employees for the extra time because it's unrelated to their primary job duties. 

The Home Depot will buy HD Supply's Hardware Solutions unit, formerly known as Crown Bolt, for an undisclosed amount. Atlanta-based Home Depot said the acquisition boosts it supply chain capabilities and hardware product offerings. The deal is expected to close by the end of 2014. HD Supply Hardware Solutions supplies fasteners and builders hardware to retailers in the United States. It was The Home Depot's 2013 Hardware Vendor of the Year.

One Kings Lane, a flash-sales site for high-end home goods, has taken a different approach to building a high-quality affiliate program. Its solution is to block coupon, loyalty or any other nonbrand relevant sites from its affiliate program. This puts all affiliates on a level playing field, making the program very attractive to those affiliates who

Many online retailers are looking for ways to increase impulse buys among shoppers. How can retailers catch the eye of online shoppers, who have a short attention span and a goal-oriented mind-set when making purchases? Here are some ways to encourage those much-needed impulse buys among online shoppers:

Learn how savvy commerce marketers are delivering 1:1 marketing at massive scale with precise understanding the customer journey.

The way in which ground shipping charges are derived is about to change in 2015. Are you prepared? Both FedEx and UPS announced plans to apply dimensional weight pricing on all packages. The two companies already use this pricing on many of their other services, but have now opted to expand this practice further. Both companies believe these changes will help to reduce excess packaging materials and overall package sizes in order to better optimize loads, which may ultimately lead to related reductions in fuel use, vehicle emissions and transportation costs.

With millions of Merry Christmases and Happy Hanukkahs on the line, it's important that omnichannel newcomers like Wal-Mart and Sears adjust for the effects of increased online shopping. One solution is for retailers to offer more products, while simultaneously ensuring faster delivery by transferring the shipping responsibilities to the manufacturer or supplier via drop shipping.