September/October Issue 2013
A Beautiful Marriage
Buying an engagement ring ranks as one of the biggest purchases a consumer will ever make, both in terms of a sentimental and financial investment. Now imagine going through this entire process online — browsing a website to create the exact ring your future spouse will love, making sure it's sized just right and then paying for it via an e-commerce checkout page. Ritani is trying to make this experience the norm rather than the exception … with a healthy assist from traditional brick-and-mortar storefronts. Leading Ritani's efforts at transforming the traditional retail jewelry store model is Brian Watkins, the company's president.
Billabong Installs Currency Solution to Better Serve International Customers
Billabong is a global omnichannel retailer of surfwear and extreme sports apparel that has a presence in more than 100 countries, including 110 brick-and-mortar stores in the U.S. With its extended reach and strong international customer base, Billabong frequently saw customers from around the world shopping in its U.S. stores. To provide these international customers shopping in the U.S. as seamless an experience as possible, Billabong recently installed a "Pay in Your Currency" payment solution in 85 of its stores across the country.
How to Make Your Warehouse More Profitable
Strategy and planning can transform your warehouse into a driver of increased efficiency and bottom-line business gains. By thoroughly evaluating the amount of space, labor and automation your warehouse operation requires, you can create daily, weekly, monthly and even yearly plans capable of improving the efficiency and profitability of your operation.
Improved PLA Bidding Helps Business Supply Build Out its Customer Base
Online office supply retailer Business Supply saw increases in revenue, conversions, return on investment and customer acquisition thanks to a newly managed Google Product Listing Ad (PLA) program it launched this past spring.
Preparing for and Responding to a Data Breach
Unfortunately, it's not a question of if, but when your company will experience a data breach. Whether caused by a hacker, equipment failure, theft, disgruntled employee or a vendor error, most retailers will experience an incident resulting in the unauthorized disclosure of confidential customer or employee information. According to the Open Security Foundation and security consultancy Risk Based Security, last year set a record for the number of reported data breach incidents — 2,644 incidents, more than double the number in 2011, which previously had been the highest amount in one year.
Slyce — A New Kind of Photoshopping
Dubbed the "Shazam of retail," Slyce is a visual-based purchasing app that allows smartphone-wielding consumers to snap photos of any items they want — whether they view them in a storefront window, catalog, print ad, on the body of someone else, etc. — and in return get product reviews, pricing and exclusive discounts for those products through a seamless user experience. The app returns a Pinterest-like array of 30 images to 40 images for each search, with the most relevant results at the top.
The Future is Now
Notice anything different about the Editor's Note in this issue? Perhaps you see a "Layar" logo and some text in the upper left-hand corner of this page, above my head? No, we're not rebranding. What Retail Online Integration is doing is providing you with our first-ever augmented reality (AR) issue. As such, throughout this issue there are interactive elements and links that can make this print magazine as alive as any website.
The Value of Design Elements in Print Catalogs
Q: "Our catalogs tend to be crammed with photos 
and descriptions. How do I demonstrate to upper 
management the value of design elements, white space and larger photos per spread?"
 — Angela Sanchez,
 creative director, NLC Products
Using Fulfillment as a Customer Retention Tool
The warehouse is the last step in preparing a package before it lands in the hands of a customer. It's responsible for the last impression of the customer's overall buying experience. While this means it should be a key place to differentiate your brand's messaging, not many retailers recognize that order fulfillment represents an opportunity to capitalize on brand awareness. The fulfillment opportunity is responsible for the last impression of the customer's overall buying experience.
What Omnichannel Retailers Need to Know When Choosing an OMS
An order management system is a critical resource for omnichannel retailers who sell merchandise that they ship from either their own warehouse or via a third-party service bureau or logistics provider. To take full advantage of all their benefits, however, you need to make a strategic decision about which OMS is right for your organization. Here are some tips to help with that process.
