Digital Innovation

Shifting Sands: How Recent Trends Are Fueling Permanent Change for Shoppers and Cities
June 15, 2021 at 4:13 pm

When it comes to how cities serve their citizens, success is a long game. It takes years (and even decades) to shift a city to accommodate changes in how we live, and that’s precisely why city planners, businesses, and real estate agents alike are closely watching recent trends surrounding how and where we live, work…

5 Trends Shaping the Future of Brick-and-Mortar Retail
May 28, 2021 at 1:36 pm

Was it a rough year for many individual retailers? No doubt. We saw too many organizations close their doors in the past year-plus. However, as a whole, brick-and-mortar retail is booming. Total retail sales rose by 6.9 percent in 2020 compared with 2019, per the U.S. Department of Commerce (via The Balance). The final take…

Reinventing Retail in 2021: Technology Innovation, CX and Analytics Will Drive the Market
May 24, 2021 at 11:41 am

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been varied across industries, but the way it has shaken up the retail industry draws few parallels. Lockdowns and movement restrictions brought business in physical stores to a trickle and led to changes in buying patterns and consumer preferences almost overnight. Retailers that relied primarily on in-store experiences…

A Year of Transformation: What’s Next for Grocery Post-COVID
May 20, 2021 at 5:24 pm

There’s no doubt that the retail industry has transformed dramatically in the last year. As we look back, it's apparent that those retailers that invested heavily in digital were better equipped to weather the pandemic storm than those that did not. The U.S. grocery sector, a sector that historically lagged behind in digital adoption, was…

January Digital's CEO on Why the Next 6 Months Are Key to Retailers' Futures
May 19, 2021 at 6:44 pm

In this episode of Total Retail Tech Insights, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Vic Drabicky, founder and CEO of January Digital, the digital leadership company. Drabicky discusses what makes January Digital unique, the company's work with various clients such as The Honest Company, and his thoughts on where the retail industry is today as a result of…

2023 is Retail’s Pivot Point for Digital Innovation
May 13, 2021 at 2:38 pm

Retailers are two years away from the most pivotal acceleration of digital innovation they’ve ever seen. Some realize it; many do not. A rare confluence of groundbreaking technologies — 5G, artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), voice, low-code, and blockchain — continue to advance at an incredible…

How COVID-19 is Accelerating Retail’s Transformation ... and What That Means for Brands
May 12, 2021 at 12:10 pm

After a year of social distancing, quarantines, and Zoom calls, it's no wonder people are yearning for human contact and physical experiences more than ever. In fact, 25 percent of online shoppers agree that online shopping is less satisfying than visiting a brick-and-mortar store, according to Kantar’s COVID-19 Barometer. However, the brands that thrive moving…

3 Digital Commerce Disruptions Driving Revenue Opportunities for Brands
May 5, 2021 at 12:31 pm

COVID-19 is the ultimate change agent, and implications have hyperaccelerated shifting consumer behaviors, catching brands unprepared. In 2021, marketers must implement digital innovations to drive commerce now and into the future. Here are three consumer-centric digital commerce disruptions brands must pay attention to for revenue generation and fostering loyalty. Evolving Consumer Attitudes Are Fueling Flexible…

Making COVID-19 Experiments a Seamless Experience: How to Succeed in Innovation and Rollout
April 28, 2021 at 5:38 pm

2020 might have seemed like a year of forced innovation for retailers. But in truth, many were already experimenting with new channels and customer experiences before coronavirus entered the picture. What changed last year was widespread demand and fast-paced adoption. Suddenly these experiments with customer experience — grab-and-go, BOPIS, contactless payments, dark stores — were…