Omnichannel

This month, Express is enhancing the customer experience by launching its first-ever catalog in many different channels. The company studied its customer and found that customers want to shop in many different ways. To accompany customer wants, Express added e-commerce, m-commerce and f-commerce to its resume over the last few years and the catalog seems to be the next logical step.

Wal-Mart's U.K. subsidiary Asda announced that it's mobilized its grocery site to enable shopping from a smartphone. According to Asda, the new mobile site offers all of the features on Asda.com, in which customers can register, shop and amend an existing order or delivery slot up until 10 p.m. the day before their delivery is due.

Lowe's plans to outfit employees with 42,000 iPhone 4s next month, with custom apps that will make use of the device as a point-of-sale system as part of a technology-heavy retail overhaul. The retailer will introduce a new MyLowes online tool and implement the iPhones in an effort to catch rival Home Depot, which invested more than $60 million on handheld Motorola POS system last year.

overstockArt.com announced the official launch of its mobile website. The launch represents another milestone for the company as it continues to make strides in technological innovation. Consumers can now conveniently access the popular online art gallery's collection of more than 60,000 reproduction oil paintings and decorative ceramic tiles on their BlackBerrys, iPhones, Droids, and other small-screen mobile devices.

Now that the final days of summer have come to an end, retailers are in the thick of planning for the busy holiday shopping season. As you start to plan your campaigns, it's important to take a step back and look at how consumers are using their mobile and tablet devices to drive in-store and on-device purchases.

There's no other platform that can allow you to touch and engage with a product or brand like mobile can, so intrigue users to interact with your advertising campaign.

For the last 25 years, Dennis May has been involved in the retail industry — and he's loved every second of it. From his modest beginning selling audio equipment to help support himself while in college (that was the cool job at the time, May recalls) to his tenure today as president and CEO of one of the fastest-growing cross-channel retail brands out there, the one constant has been retail. But that's just part of the reason we've chosen May as our 2011 cross-channel retailer of the year.

Lowe’s has launched a home improvement app for the iPhone and iPod. The application is designed to support customers with their home improvement projects and provide tools to help simplify the shopping experience.

Polo Ralph Lauren has bought a solo sponsorship of The New York Times iPad app during September, providing free access to five sections and running ads that, among other things, will provide the only live video of its Fashion Week runway show on Sept. 15.

Best Buy U.K. today unveiled a site for use on smartphones as it aims to improve its multichannel presence. The retailer, which launched its first big-box store in the U.K. in April 2010, has had a disappointing first year as the electricals sector continues to struggle during the ongoing economic downturn.