Omnichannel

Urban Outfitters, which has been piloting mobile point-of-sale devices in selected stores since late 2010, will distribute the technology across three of its brands this year, according to CEO Glen Senk. The chain's brick-and-mortar locations include 179 Urban Outfitters and 156 Anthropologie stores in the U.S., Canada and Europe, as well as 47 Free People stores.

Apple is moving forward on plans to put iPads to work in its retail stores, not just as display models, but as tools to sell its other products. In Australia and other countries, Apple stores have opened with a new setup that makes use of iPads as informational tools to customers around the store, taking the place of the paper-based informational signs next to the company's products.

With cafes on nearly every corner in Vancouver, British Columbia, Ethical Bean Coffee Co. needed a way to stand out. The answer was an odd barcode with a maze of black boxes instead of the usual straight lines.

A new study from comScore found that 16.7 million U.S. mobile subscribers used location-based check-in services on their phones in March 2011, representing 7.1 percent of the mobile population. 

Recently Google announced the launch of +1 (yes, plus one, a name even more unfortunate than iPad), its version of the Facebook "Like" button. Google says +1 is shorthand for "this is pretty cool" or "you should check this out," and that it's designed to help you "share recommendations with the world — right in Google's search results."

Recognized for its durable and high-quality products designed for working men and women, Carhartt has over a century's worth of trust built up with its customers. The cross-channel re-
tailer has built that trust not only through its quality products, but also by engaging consumers on multiple levels: as a B-to-B/B-to-C hybrid brand; a wholesale supplier to thousands of brick-and-mortar stores throughout the country; and a direct retailer via catalogs and an e-commerce site. Carhartt believes company-owned retail stores is its next big opportunity.

J Vineyards & Winery has incorporated mobile barcodes onto its labels to educate consumers on the particular wine bottle they scan. The company decided to use mobile barcodes because of the growing number of smartphones in the market and to further engage its ever-changing tech-savvy consumers.

It’s an undisputed fact that a significant shift is occurring in the modern retail industry, with a substantial amount of consumer spending moving from in-store to online purchases. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, e-commerce sales reached $165.4 billion in 2010. What's more, Forrester Research predicts that figure will reach $279 billion by 2015. When the experts point to growth of more than $100 billion in just five years, those involved in the retail ecosystem need to be prepared to effectively embrace this trend moving forward.

You may already know there are 5 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide. Under current trends, mobile phones will surpass PCs as the device most commonly used to access the web. You may be surprised to find out that 200 million people access Facebook through mobile devices. These people are twice as active on Facebook, so it appears that having internet access anytime, anywhere via a mobile device creates twice the engagement.

Sears Canada has introduced Skype technology in 10 of its trendy new fashion shops, allowing shoppers to get instant online feedback by modelling would-be purchases for friends or family on an in-store, 58-inch-wide screen.