In 2022, the blueprint to retail success is evolving before our eyes. The ripple effects of a two-year global pandemic coupled with rapid accelerations in digital transformation have shifted the paradigm for consumer expectations. Now more than ever, customers desire seamless and personalized experiences at every touchpoint of their buyer’s journey. Whether it’s in-store, on…
As readers of this article likely know, customers can use the buy now pay later (BNPL) option to make purchases — both in-person and online — without having to pay the entire price of the goods at the time of purchase. Like the layaway plans from the past, BNPL allows customers to spread out their payments if…
The last three years have brought an explosion of new technology into retail spaces. Electronic shelf labels, virtual mirrors, and self-checkout are just a few ways brick-and-mortar stores are digitizing the retail experience. Retailers are confident delivering a highly personalized, zero-friction experience in a physical setting can improve the shopping experience and help them reclaim…
The past few years have been challenging for retail brands, which are adapting to external market forces like the pandemic and evolving in response to shifting customer expectations. It’s also an exciting time, and many brand marketers are experimenting with new ways to meet people where they are — increasingly in the metaverse and other…
A myriad of factors can contribute to an online shopper receiving a poor site search result. This can be true even if the retailer’s product catalog includes what the shopper wants. The most common issue leading to poor site search results — and subsequently poor customer experiences — is limited product attributes (e.g., size, color,…
Like many sectors, luxury retail has weathered more than a few challenges, crises and storms over the last few years — illustrated by the 23 percent drop in sales (or around $228 billion) in 2020 worldwide. These challenges have put considerable pressure on brands to keep pace with changing market trends and customer behaviors. For decades,…
Let’s say you go to your favorite fashion and apparel website and type your usual search term for whichever specific item you’re looking for in the search bar. What do you typically find? Are the results relevant? Or are they a swing and a miss? More often than not, shoppers are having trouble finding exactly…
Retail e-commerce sales surpassed $4.9 trillion worldwide last year and are predicted to exceed $5.5 trillion by the end of 2022. However, to eight out of 10 small to midsize business (SMB) owners, those numbers aren't striking joy as worries over a looming recession mount. Over half of Wall Street's investment and economic professionals seem to…
With the media and analyst attention 5G and edge computing are getting these days, it’s easy to sense they're very important technologies. However, it’s not always easy to figure out what they mean for your retail business, or why they’re so often talked about at the same time. My goal is to help you connect…
Today, subscription experiences are in high demand, with more than half (52 percent) of respondents in our recent survey noting they have between two to five products delivered via subscriptions. In addition, more than a quarter (27 percent) of consumers say convenience motivated their decision to subscribe. Yet, while interested in convenience, consumers want to set their…
