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Insights

  • Careful Curation is Key to Avoiding In-Store Sensory Overload

    Each moment, it seems, something new emerges to compete for our attention. Our desktop browsers manage dozens of tabs simultaneously, even though we can only process the information contained on those pages one tab at a time. Our phones ping away, constantly keeping us connected to an infinite virtual world.    

  • Reimagining Retail: Sur La Table

    Recently, I was in my kitchen making Veal Provençal for my kids. As I reached for the can of peeled tomatoes, my worn out can opener broke in my hand. I turned to my Alexa device and told it to order a new can opener from Edlund. Two days later, the package awaited me when I got home.  

  • Is Facial Recognition in Retail Market Research the Next Big Thing?

    Remember the memory-erasing Neuralyzer in "Men in Black"? Or more recently, "Ex Machina," the Oscar-winning story of a humanoid robot that uses emotional persuasion to outsmart humans and escape from the secluded home of its creator?  

  • What the Age of the Connected Customer Means for Brick-and-Mortar Retailers

    For years, retail was neatly divided into two categories: e-commerce and brick-and-mortar. But with the advent of smartphones, digital and physical worlds are melding together, creating a new retail environment in which almost every customer journey involves both online and offline activity. This is particularly true for Generation Z consumers, the first generation to have grown up with digital technologies at their fingertips and who now make up 25% of the total U.S. population.  

  • This old store: Keys for transforming historic spaces

    For a retailer, the allure of a historic building is obvious. A renovated historic space conveys a unique degree of character and a memorable and defining sense of place. It can help a brand or business stand out in a crowded and competitive retail marketplace and deliver that all-important experiential element.  

  • Analysis: Amazon Q4 — Prime is the big story

    While it missed some analysts’ aggressive $44.7 billion quarterly revenue estimate, Amazon continues to record solid growth. Fourth-quarter sales were up 22% year over year to $43.7 billion. The retailer also maintained profitability throughout 2016, indicating that the flywheel continues to accelerate, especially in North America.   

  • Tech Bytes: Lessons learned from holiday 2016 can drive mobile conversions going forward

    Mobility’s influence on retail sales has never been stronger. Too bad the same can’t be said for its impact on conversions.   I know what you are thinking — the industry had a stellar holiday shopping season, and it was driven by mobile. Indeed, the 2016 holiday season brought in a total $91.7 billion in online sales, an 11% increase year-over-year. Mobile alone brought in a total of $28.43 billion in revenue, a 23% increase over last year, according to Adobe.   

  • Commentary: Ralph Lauren brand is ‘lost’

    Neil Saunders, managing director of retail research and consulting firm GlobalData Retail (formerly known as Conlumino) analyzes Ralph Lauren Corp.’s third quarter results and the news that CEO Stefan Larsson is leaving the company after a little over a year on the job. His comments are as follows:   
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