Michael Osborne

Go to any retail store and the associates likely have some spooky stories to tell when it comes to returns fraud and abuse. For instance, imagine a box arrives for a returned computer and all that’s inside is a heap of heavy rocks. Unfortunately, fraudsters and organized retail crime (ORC) groups are only getting craftier…

A whopping 69 percent of retailers treat returns as a cost of doing business, meaning they simply accept that they will incur $165 million in merchandise returns for every $1 billion in sales. This problem is further exacerbated during the holiday season when 17.9 percent of merchandise sold is returned. But what if one shift could…

Today’s consumers have an attention span shorter than a goldfish. And with 95 percent of millennials admitting to doing other things while shopping, it’s no wonder retailers are facing challenges with consumer hyperconnectivity and hyperdistraction now more than ever before. Marketers are continuously searching for the secret sauce to break through the noise, effectively connect…

Digitally connected, frequently distracted, and impervious to mass marketing techniques, millennials have certainly given retail executives and marketers a run for their money. Long gone are the days of simple batch-and-blast emails or in-store promotions to garner significant return on investment. Today, it’s about the integration of both the physical with the digital, so the…

It's a question that's been at the forefront of marketers’ minds for years: How can I engage with customers uniquely, based on both their interests and their value to my brand? And then digging deeper: How can I manage that conversation not just digitally, but offline, too, through any channel? These are questions that have been asked, pondered, discussed and, ultimately, never answered. That is, until now. The promise of omnichannel marketing enlightenment gets realized this year.