Digital Innovation

In 2018, specialty retail was under assault. This year, it’s taking up arms. Specialty retailers have improved fulfillment speed dramatically. Consider, a fifth of brands now offer free two-day shipping, and the number of brands offering next-day shipping has doubled. Recognizing that mobile accounts for 55 percent of online traffic, on average, in this sector,…

Most retailers know that innovation is key to surviving — and thriving — in the accelerating digital age, but what most retailers don’t understand is how to get there. This is what John Trainor, chief information officer and senior vice president, digital product at Aaron's, discussed during last week's Total Retail Tech event in Philadelphia. Trainor's keynote presentation,…

The future of commerce is sitting on your counter. That’s right, Amazon Alexa, the familiar voice assistant who tells you the weather forecast, will also help you purchase a new umbrella. That was the consensus, anyway, until a recent viral statistic caused some backpedaling. According to a recent report by The Information, “just 2 percent…

Just when we thought Amazon Prime two-day shipping couldn’t get any swifter, the e-commerce behemoth announced same-day delivery, sending shockwaves throughout the retail landscape. The move further raises the bar for consumer expectations, setting a new benchmark not just for delivery speed, but personalization. There’s no denying that the one-size-fits-all experience doesn’t work anymore. Shoppers…

The retail industry, like many others, is being disrupted and permanently changed by the ever-increasing capabilities and applications of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). As I wrote in my last post, we're just beginning to see the benefits of AI and ML implementations in the retail sector, but they've already helped forward-thinking companies…

Aaron’s, an Atlanta-based retailer of furniture, consumer electronics and appliances that are available for sale or lease to own, is a rapidly growing company with more than 1,600 stores across 47 states and in Canada. However, Aaron's needed to take the necessary steps to improve upon its digital operations in order to be a truly…

Interacting with voice assistants is becoming a part of our daily lives. From smartphones and smart TVs to wearables and even microwaves, it’s hard to name a device that hasn’t been — or won’t soon be — enhanced with voice-enabled technology in some capacity. Despite its growth, voice assistant technology is a largely untapped resource.…

The age of digital disruption has arguably impacted retailers more than any other industry, with well-known brands going out of business or closing stores on a regular basis and consumers increasingly choosing online shopping over brick-and-mortar because of convenience. With pressure to stay competitive, when an outage of any kind (point-of-sale system, inventory management, etc.)…

In 1998, economist B. Joseph Pine II wrote that the world of retail was changing. He noted that the service economy was coming to an end, soon to be replaced with an economy based on memorable experiences and shared events. Now, over 20 years later, the "experience economy" has moved from an academic theory into…

Brick-and-mortar retail is getting dissed by millennials, who increasingly prefer to shop online. With millennials representing an estimated $1.4 trillion in purchasing power, brick-and-mortar retailers can’t afford to ignore their needs as e-commerce and subscription services eat into market share. In the words of Vanilla Ice, retailers need to “stop, collaborate and listen,” brick-and-mortar retail…