Technology

Holiday shopping season isn’t on the horizon … it’s here. In fact, some stores began launching holiday deals as early as October. And while consumers are seemingly ready and willing to buy, customer experience can make or break peak season for any retailer. Almost every shopper coming through your doors or visiting your website is…

With the holiday retail season upon us, some brands are executing strategies to counter the effects of tariffs on certain Chinese imports, including price increases and the relocation of offshore production operations to tariff-free countries. These strategies may not be an ideal or sustainable response to the tariff increases, however, as the price increases may…

Today, the retail experience is much more complex than it’s ever been before, and often long checkout lines, low inventory, and overpriced items can drive consumers away from making a purchase. As we quickly approach the largest retail moment of the year on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it’s important for retailers to provide a…

For most retailers, holiday — also known as the golden quarter — is the make-or-break season. Retailers have been preparing for the upcoming holiday season for months, and for good reason. The period between Black Friday and Christmas can represent a significant chunk of sales revenue for a retailer. In 2018, consumers spent nearly $1…

As retailers ramp up their planning for the 2019 holiday season, they need to prepare for a number of factors that can negatively impact website performance. It’s not enough to simply ensure there's sufficient network capacity for the traffic they're forecasting. First and foremost is security, and preventing the debilitating performance problems, including outages, that…

A recent report predicts that spending on artificial intelligence (AI) in retail will reach $7.3 billion by 2022, with 30 percent of it being allocated toward marketing automation. AI marketing has been disruptive in the retail industry by providing countless benefits to retailers of all sizes, from Fortune 500 companies to small e-commerce shops. These…

Apparel retail is infamous for extremely short collection cycles. This means that businesses are always pressured to get rid of old or surplus inventory to make room for new collections. In this time-sensitive scenario, retail teams usually prefer to clear off shelves at all costs. In many cases, retailers launch promos which attract customers and…

The trend toward cashless consumer payments has retailers preparing for an evolution at the point of sale (POS). With just 24 percent of Americans carrying cash on a regular basis, merchants will need to accommodate more convenient payment options to keep pace with evolving consumer preferences. A TSYS survey found that debit and credit cards…

Marketers may not consider customer data platforms (CDPs) as being key drivers of the return on investment of holiday season campaigns, but that’s exactly the role CDPs can and do play in an increasingly complex omnichannel retail landscape. Because CDPs provide a cleansed, de-duped and unified view of every customer profile, these platforms are the…

When it comes to shopping, convenience is key. The power of mobile technologies has only increased consumers’ expectations of an enhanced, yet immediate and user-friendly shopping experience. With common pain points like card entry information solved with digital wallets, retailers must move to minimize the drag of repeat purchasing, especially with frequently purchased products, or…