According to the 2018 Activate Outlook Report, grocery is the next battleground for e-commerce. Interestingly, the report makes a case that brick-and-mortar stores are an enabler of online growth, beckoning a future less interested in the extinction of physical stores, but rather a harmonization of physical and e-commerce retail experiences. Central to that harmonization is…
Retailers have mastered the art of curating a superior customer experience up to the point of purchase, but new research indicates they're missing the mark when it comes to delivering the superior aftermarket experience today’s customer expects and, as importantly, they're missing out on new revenue opportunities. Ikea's recent acquisition of TaskRabbit, a sharing economy…
The holiday shopping season is always a big gift to fraudsters, meanwhile retailers rarely get what's on their list — i.e. more revenue, fewer chargebacks and stronger customer relationships. Unfortunately, the holiday season fraud problem is growing year-over-year. There was a huge spike in e-commerce fraud between 2015 and last year — 33 percent, according…
It has been six months since Amazon.com announced its plan to acquire Whole Foods Market, and along with it promised pricing rollbacks at the grocery chain. However, to date those price cuts have seemed few and far between. When NBC News took a deeper dive into the situation, it found 269 items with lower price…
Augmented reality (AR) isn’t necessarily a new concept, but the recent rollout of Apple’s ARKit and the upcoming launch of Google’s ARCore has taken this technology to the next level, making it substantially more mainstream for every consumer and business across all industries. Similar to virtual reality’s (VR) impact on gaming/entertainment, AR’s use cases are…
Consumers are eager to embrace connected devices and automation; however, they remain wary of the Internet of Things (IoT), security breaches and their long-term effects. People want the ease and accessibility that automation can provide but want assurance that there are protocols and security measures in place before they fully adopt these practices. Optimistic for…
There’s more to global payments than the age-old question, “debit or credit?” Interest in alternative payment methods has skyrocketed in recent years, and it doesn’t show signs of slowing down anytime soon. U.S. e-wallet usage surpassed that of debit cards in 2017 and, according to Worldpay’s 2017 Global Payments Report, is projected to increase by…
In episode 121 of Total Retail Talks, Andrew Blachman, chief operating officer at Tophatter, a live mobile auction marketplace, discusses the brand's strategy for growth in the competitive e-commerce space.
Recent research shows that millennials and Gen Zers are turning more and more to "social shopping" over traditional retail experiences. As a result, brick-and-mortar retailers are in a frenzy as they're being forced to rethink their marketing strategies going into the biggest shopping season of the year. When we refer to “social shopping,” we’re talking…
Consumer loyalty reward programs across every facet of retail are antiquated and ineffective. Seventy-seven percent of adults in the United States participate in loyalty programs, however, more than $100 billion in loyalty points have gone unclaimed as trust in loyalty program benefits plummets. These rewards points go unused because consumers either don’t know how to claim…
