Tarrah Martinelli

Blis embarked on a 2,000-person study to understand the actual consumption habits of 2018 shoppers this holiday season, as well as how consumers feel about the retail industry in an attempt to find the truth beyond what media headlines are declaring. With "A 2018 Holiday Shopping Outlook: How and Where Consumers Will Buy During the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” marketers will understand the following: how real the retail apocalypse is and why footfall this holiday season may increase; why it’s critical to engage holiday shoppers (mostly) year-round; how consumers are responding and reacting to brands in the current retail climate; and the tools and methods this year’s holiday shoppers will use to find the perfect gift(s). 

For this report, published December 2017, Promocodes.com surveyed 1,000 consumers on the return policies that dictate where they shop and how much they spend on themselves and on holiday gifts. Promocodes.com found that the impact of a bad return experience goes far beyond the holiday shopping season. In “(Re)turning Point: How Retailers Can Attract Holiday Shoppers With Return Policies,” it outlines the best and worst return policies according to consumers as well as the financial implications. The report closes with solutions for creating a brand-boosting return policy.

In 2017, retailers project $351 billion in sales will be lost to returns, but there's more to the story. According to the 2017 Consumer Returns in the Retail Industry Report issued by Appriss Retail, return fraud and return abuse has increased. Nationwide, return fraud costs U.S. retailers $17.6 billion, and when return abuse (e.g., wardrobing/renting) is factored in, the value rises to $22.8 billion. To put that in perspective, return fraud and abuse costs retailers $5 to $6.50 for every $100 returned.

Zebra’s 2017 Global Shopper Study is its 10th annual survey analyzing shopper satisfaction and retail technology trends. The results reveal that heightened customer expectations continue to drive a retail transformation and fuel technology investment. Shoppers are increasingly asking for faster delivery, more fulfillment options and an overall seamless in-store shopping experience, but technology may be central to alleviating some of the biggest pain points. 

In this e-book, you will find a checklist of things you must do to create a successful recognition program that positively impacts the bottom line, increases employee engagement, and improves company culture.

In our annual trends report, we ask experts from the industry, the media and our own team what marketers should look for in the coming year. We asked them about the role of artificial intelligence, how techniques like user-generated content and mining unstructured data will develop, and how retailers can leverage these options in their online programs and physical stores. They shared some great ideas, but the overarching theme was that there will be increased pressure to build a deeper relationship with the customer. That's the only chance retailers have of fending off competition from companies like Amazon.com.

This record-breaking shopping season comes at a time when consumers have higher expectations than ever for faster delivery — one outcome of what some refer to as the “Amazon Effect.” In Dropoff's 2017 Holiday Survey of U.S. consumers, you will see what effect same-day delivery has on purchase intent and brand loyalty. The report also looks at who consumers blame for poor delivery experiences — or reward for good ones. 

The holiday season is fast approaching and for retailers, it’s a make-it-or-break-it quarter. Retail has traditionally relied heavily on media channels such as radio, TV and print in the hopes of driving foot traffic during this key season. The offline-heavy budgets are missing a key component: the path from online advertising to offline shopping.

Shoppimon's Online Health & Usability (OSHU) Index is the first of its kind in the e-commerce industry to benchmark rankings on the top online retailers. These rankings are based on store site performance and shopability, and were developed using AI-based monitoring technology, which works by recognizing the key business workflows unique to each e-commerce site. Read which sites made the top 10 overall, as well as which online stores are tops in nine industry vertical categories: apparel, automotive supplies, beauty, consumer electronics, department store, food and beverage, health and wellness, home and garden, and jewelry.

To understand the habits, preferences and opinions on email personalization, Dynamic Yield surveyed 550-plus consumers in North America, Europe and Asia. The results show a clear desire for more tailored, highly curated and relevant email messaging. And as practitioners budget their spend on email marketing this year, the opportunity to improve the current state of the channel is too large to ignore.