ECOMMERCE

As Cole Haan expands its breadth, the retail experience must remain consistent — regardless of the touchpoint shoppers use.    In partnership with Aptos, the specialty retailer now has a platform that delivers a seamless customer experience throughout the entire shopping journey. Regardless of whether shoppers visit one of the company’s 259 stores across 30 countries, or shop online, now they will get a unified experience.  

Walmart’s technology incubator — called Store No. 8 — is on the hunt for cutting edge virtual reality (VR) solutions.   

Walmart is making it easier for parents to stay on their game during this year's back-to-school shopping season.   According to the National Retail Federation, this year's season is expected to be a strong one and start early. Walmart is rolling out new services to help shoppers easily find what they are looking for — in stores and online.  

In the age of evolving consumer preferences enabled by digital technologies, customers continue demanding convenience and ease of use while shopping online. Additionally, they want instant gratification of purchasing items in the store and, increasingly, a combination of the two. To this effect, the buy online, pickup in store (BOPIS) option, or click and collect experience, has become a key component of customer satisfaction, loyalty and revenue growth.  

As the adoption of voice-controlled devices rises, so will the number of voice-enabled purchases.   This was according to “Walker Sands 2017 Future of Retail Study.” The report, which was conducted in late March, surveyed 1,622 consumers across the United States.    Nearly one in five consumers (19%) have made a voice purchase through an Amazon Echo or other voice-controlled device in the past year. Another 33% plan to do so in the next year.   

Amazon has won the right to sell groceries in India.   The online giant currently sells groceries in India through a local partner. But it recently secured government approval to stock and sell its own food items, reported the Nikkei Asian Review.     

Amazon’s third annual Prime Day was its biggest shopping event yet — and the biggest day in its history for signing up new Prime members.  

Amazon's third annual shopping event was a success in the eyes of consumers this year, according to InfoScout and Market Track’s survey of shoppers on Prime Day.   

Shoppers are buying more goods than ever online, but they also are increasingly picking the items up at — and returning them to — brick-and-mortar store.  

Early indications are that competitors didn't give Amazon much competition price wise Prime Day.   The third annual shopping extravaganza, which kicked off on July 10 at 6 pm PST and was scheduled to run until the wee hours of the morning of July 12, was originally introduced as a way to reward existing Prime shoppers and attract new ones. With promises of new deals every five minutes, the company reported on Tuesday that customers worldwide are shopping at “record levels,” according to CNBC.