Omnichannel

The retail industry has entered a new era, one in which fragmented omnichannel strategies are no longer enough to meet rising consumer expectations and mounting operational pressures. According to Manhattan Associates’ latest report, Unified Commerce Powers Future Retail Success, the retailers pulling ahead are those that have moved beyond omnichannel and embraced unified commerce: a…

Inventory data has quietly become the most important customer experience (CX) system in modern retail, and the foundation of true, storewide intelligence that connects what customers see on shelves with what systems believe is available. When shelf reality and system reality match, every other experience promised — from personalization to buy online, pick up in-store…

After attending NRF Big Show earlier this year and EuroShop more recently, it’s clear that retailers aren’t short of ideas. They’re focused on what actually works, consistently, across stores, day in and day out, and that shift points to a broader reality the industry has been circling for some time. Retail’s biggest challenge is execution…

When considering fundamental shifts in how shoppers define value in today’s retail environment, at the center is continuity. It's the expectation that a shopper’s relationship with a brand doesn’t reset when they move between channels, but instead flows seamlessly across them. For retailers, this is where the challenge becomes operational. While digital channels have evolved…

Criteo bought its way into ChatGPT. Advertisers can now place sponsored products inside artificial intelligence responses, the same way they buy display inventory across the open web. It's a logical move. It's also the clearest signal yet that the ad industry is about to repeat its worst mistake at scale. Picture this scenario: a user…

Products from Ace Hardware are now available on Uber Eats nationwide as the hardware cooperative becomes the latest retailer to dive into on-demand delivery services and Uber Eats works to recast itself from the "Eats" part of its brand. The two companies announced the partnership Tuesday, saying it would allow customers who already shop locally…

How retailers can provide a best-in-class customer experience via a unified commerce model -- and what that means for the bottom line

Imagine this: a shopper walks into a store, spots a sleek digital display promoting a popular item, and makes a beeline toward it, only to come away empty-handed because the item is sold out. It’s a small moment, but one that leaves a lasting impression. While retailers have invested heavily in digital signage to modernize…

Retail profit margins in 2026 are becoming increasingly vulnerable. Operating costs are sky high and tariffs have dampened consumer spending, triggering the largest e-commerce slowdown in more than a decade. In addition, returns are taking a huge bite out of profits, accounting for an estimated 19.3 percent of e-commerce sales in 2025. With profitability under…

Retailers use modern integration platforms to connect diverse platforms for digital commerce, store fulfillment, supplier networks, and last-minute delivery to keep up with customer expectations. The payoff is speed and flexibility across the business-to-business (B2B) supply chain. The downside? A growing share of failures now occurs in the handoffs between these platforms rather than within…