This past January, as I've done for the past five years or so, I trekked into New York City's Jacob Javits Convention Center for the National Retail Federation's (NRF) Big Show. I was met, as I was in past years as well, by retailers from around the world. I spent time at this year's conference attending presentations and press conferences; meeting and interviewing retail industry execs in the press room; and walking the vast exhibit hall floors trying to find the "next big things" in retail technology. Here are a few of my takeaways
Q: "I sell merchandise on eBay and via my own site, and have much better sales on eBay. How can I convert those eBay buyers to purchase on my website?"
As senior managers, we're tasked with overseeing initiatives that drive innovation and growth, defining and setting the direction of the company, hiring the right people to execute the overall vision, and being champions for the company's products and services. Together, our actions and decisions are designed to influence product development, sales, operations, competitive positioning, company reputation and, if publicly traded, stock performance. If a particular business unit or function isn't performing as expected, or their actions have an adverse effect on operations, ultimately, the responsibility falls on senior management.
Target said cyberthieves stole credentials from one of the retailer's vendors in order to access its system, according to an ongoing forensic investigation into a data breach that may have exposed information from as many as 110 million customers. The company said that since disclosing the hack Dec. 15, it cleared its system of the malware that had been planted. "In addition, since that time we have taken extra precautions such as limiting or updating access to some of our platforms while the investigation continues," Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder said in a statement Wednesday.
Amazon.com plans to offer brick-and-mortar retailers a checkout system that uses Kindle tablets as soon as this summer, people briefed on the company's plans said. In one scenario, the Seattle company would give merchants Kindle tablets and credit card readers, the people said. Amazon also might offer retailers other services, such as website development and data analysis, the people said. To accelerate the project, Amazon last year bought certain technology and hired some engineers from GoPago Inc., a startup that offered checkout systems linked to a smartphone app.
Modell's Sporting Goods has deployed cutting-edge technology in its Times Square flagship to welcome Super Bowl XLVIII fans. The sporting goods retailer has installed a virtual image of CEO Mitchell Modell to personally greet shoppers. The image is provided via Tensator's Virtual Assistant digital signage solution, which creates the illusion of a real person. The virtual Modell provides suggestions on Super Bowl gear, shares information on apparel, footwear, sporting goods and licensed team products, informs shoppers about the store's loyalty program, how to sign up and even gives directions on where to find certain items.
U.S. banks have spent more than $153 million so far replacing 15.3 million debit and credit cards after the huge data heist from Target Corp., and the numbers are only growing. The Consumer Bankers Association announced the numbers Tuesday, saying that as more retailers announce breaches, the price tag for banks could grow to “hundreds of millions of dollars, and possibly billions.” It’s time for Target to step up to the plate and pay some of the costs for one of the largest data thefts recorded in the United States, the industry group said.
Revenue growth may have slowed last year at Apple's retail stores, but the division remains one of the world's strongest and a key strategic focus of the tech giant's future. With revenue exceeding $20 billion for the fiscal year ended Sept. 28, Apple's brick-and-mortar unit exceeded the total annual revenue at big-name retailers such as Nordstrom, Gap and AutoNation. The stores are practically hallowed ground for entrepreneurs who supply accoutrements for Apple's "iOSphere." They say the cache and cash flow at Apple's retail outlets combine to make it a unique and unrivaled platform for introducing their products.
There seems to be an announcement almost weekly that a retailer has been the victim of a cyberattack in which consumer information has been stolen. Has this become the next wave of 21st century white-collar crime as the world of electronic credit and payments opens up companies to more and more thefts of financial information? As hackers’ level of sophistication increases, companies have a harder time even detecting whether computer systems have been attacked and the extent of any security breach.
National Retail Federation Vice President and Employee Benefits Policy Counsel Neil Trautwein testified yesterday before the House Ways and Means Committee on the impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), where he reiterated the retail industry's strong support for modifying the health care law's employer mandate and 30-hour requirement for coverage. "Many retail and restaurant employees do not fit neatly into full- and part-time categories and compliance with the unprecedented levels of change under the ACA will be particularly challenging," Trautwein testified.
