Insights

Online reviews have boomed in recent years. Once just another step in the customer decision-making process, they are now a pervasive part of daily life.  

Detroit is one of the most encouraging and intriguing stories to develop in the wake of the Great Recession. With investment, development, and redevelopment booming downtown, office and multi-family momentum has spurred a retail revival. The Motor City is revving its retail engine and is well on the way to arriving as a true retail destination for the first time in decades.   

After solid start to the year, retail is now back in softer growth territory. While the 2.1% rate of overall expansion is not disastrous, it is much lower than the past few quarters and is largely the result of higher gas prices which buoyed sales at gas stations by 15.8%. The pure retail number is more concerning, with the 0.8% increase being the slowest growth recorded since February 2013.  

Diane K. Lettelleir, senior managing counsel of JCPenney Corp., discusses why retailers can’t wait for the government to solve the patent troll problem in the commentary below:    JCPenney and numerous other retailers have been hunted for the last decade by patent trolls that aggressively file suits based on overly broad claims in patents against related but distinct technologies. JCPenney alone has endured dozens of patent troll lawsuits over this period.   

Every company has liquidation inventory: returned, excess, obsolete or damaged merchandise that can’t go back on store shelves. Though most organizations would rather not admit they have a need for it, liquidation is the rule – not the exception – in retail.  

For good reason, retailers in recent years have sought to understand the shopping habits and preferences of the millennial generation. The oldest millennials, born in or after 1980, are now well into their thirties – and have certainly reached maturity as consumers. It’s now time to shift the focus and look at the next generation behind these millennials to see if they differ from their digital-savvy counterparts.    

As the industry remains on its path toward frictionless retail, there is one clear way to achieve this goal: embrace innovation.    There is no denying that innovative solutions are the industry’s ticket to transforming operations, and eTail West 2017 was chock-full of ideas of how to make this transition. The hottest digital strategies that continue to shape retail run the gamut, from conversational artificial intelligence to redefined mobile strategies that center on personalization, virtual reality and digital payments. 

With 2017 in full swing, we’ve already had a taste of what’s in store for the retail industry in the year ahead. With innovation driving technological advancements and online consumers demanding speed and convenience, we’ve outlined three key trends that all retailers need to pay attention to in order to compete.   More chatbots

Omnichannel environment places evolving demands, challenges on C-suite executives

The transformation of retail from brick and mortar into a digital omnichannel environment has caused an evolution in certain key roles in the C-suite.

Antony Karabus, CEO of HRC Retail Advisory, spoke with Chain Store Age about how the key role of the chief operating officer is evolving to enhance the transformation of retail companies in today’s more complex environment.

What is the typical scope of responsibilities of a retail COO?

I’ve seen the future of retail. And it’s not all online, not by a long shot.

First, let’s deal with the elephant in the room. Yes, traditional brick-and-mortar retailers are confronted with challenges on multiple fronts. Adapting stores to accommodate today’s digitally savvy and demanding customers is no easy feat.