Technology

As retail and direct-to-consumer companies look to ignite their next wave of growth, executives at these organizations are having to chart a path forward amid rising customer acquisition costs. As they do, many of these companies are setting their sights on a new beacon of potential growth shining on the horizon: advertising revenue. The opportunity…

As director of market research at the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)®, I have an insider’s view of the latest and greatest innovations and technology. And there’s an important, but unexpected, trend in the intersection of technology and retail: tech innovations are giving shoppers even more reasons to visit brick-and-mortar stores. Ninety percent of consumer shopping still…

“Innovate or die!” is a mantra known to many industries, but is particularly relevant to today’s retailers. Recent headlines seem to highlight those that have failed to embrace innovation and have suffered the consequences — store closures, lost customers, bankruptcy filings. The truth is, however, that many have enthusiastically embraced the call for digital transformation,…

The holiday shopping season kickoff isn’t called “Black Friday” because of the chaos in stores when shoppers turn up in droves. The origin of the name goes back to the bookkeeping color code — retailers make their profits in the last quarter of the year, hoping to finish “in the black.” But profitability is a…

Holiday shopping season isn’t on the horizon … it’s here. In fact, some stores began launching holiday deals as early as October. And while consumers are seemingly ready and willing to buy, customer experience can make or break peak season for any retailer. Almost every shopper coming through your doors or visiting your website is…

With the holiday retail season upon us, some brands are executing strategies to counter the effects of tariffs on certain Chinese imports, including price increases and the relocation of offshore production operations to tariff-free countries. These strategies may not be an ideal or sustainable response to the tariff increases, however, as the price increases may…

Today, the retail experience is much more complex than it’s ever been before, and often long checkout lines, low inventory, and overpriced items can drive consumers away from making a purchase. As we quickly approach the largest retail moment of the year on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it’s important for retailers to provide a…

For most retailers, holiday — also known as the golden quarter — is the make-or-break season. Retailers have been preparing for the upcoming holiday season for months, and for good reason. The period between Black Friday and Christmas can represent a significant chunk of sales revenue for a retailer. In 2018, consumers spent nearly $1…

As retailers ramp up their planning for the 2019 holiday season, they need to prepare for a number of factors that can negatively impact website performance. It’s not enough to simply ensure there's sufficient network capacity for the traffic they're forecasting. First and foremost is security, and preventing the debilitating performance problems, including outages, that…

A recent report predicts that spending on artificial intelligence (AI) in retail will reach $7.3 billion by 2022, with 30 percent of it being allocated toward marketing automation. AI marketing has been disruptive in the retail industry by providing countless benefits to retailers of all sizes, from Fortune 500 companies to small e-commerce shops. These…