Insights

By Jim Maholic, Hitachi Consulting

Apple’s new mobile wallet solution, Apple Pay, was introduced to great fanfare as shoppers headed into the 2014 holiday shopping season armed with the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus. Apple was quick to proclaim its success with one million activations in the first 72 hours – instantly vaulting it to the top, according to Tim Cook.  

By Deepak Advani, IBM Commerce

The 2014 NFL season is over and teams have shifted focus from the Super Bowl to what’s next. This assessment requires a detailed examination of their rosters, where money was spent and what investments produced the desired outcome. It’s this same exercise that advertisers must do right now, especially those that dropped $4.5 million for a 30-second spot during the big game.

By Jonathan Barsade, CEO of Exactor

For Los Angeles-based fashion retailer Forever 21, the journey from a single location on Figueroa Street in L.A. in 1984 to more than 680 global locations today has been transformative. Over the last three decades, the brand has not shied away from innovation and experimentation, implementing a range of different store sizes and concepts along the way: from smaller 5,000-sq.-ft. layouts in its early years, to larger 9,000-sq.-ft. concepts in the 2000s and a range of big-box stores that range up to 40,000 sq. ft.

By Will McKitterick, analyst, IBIS World

By Jim Crawford

In the 1990s, when the Internet and e-commerce created a tangible link between modes of shopping that had previously been isolated (stores and catalogs), retailers struggled with how to understand, measure, and connect with shoppers in multiple ways.

It was out of this confusion that the concept of “multichannel” was heralded as retail’s saving grace, and soon, retailers were all abuzz with cross-channel shoppers.

By Scollay Petry, OtherLevels

Top of mind for retailers wanting to better engage with shoppers in their brick-and-mortar locations this holiday season are in-location technologies (e.g. beacons) and the personalization tactics they make possible. According to MediaPost, about 20% of retailers already use iBeacons, while 54% plan to implement the technology by 2015. With the promise of immediacy and “in-store engagement,” others undoubtedly will jump on the beacon bandwagon soon.

By Amy ter Haar

By Will Poindexter and Coleman Mark, Bain & Company
 
Retailers need to quickly build world-class IT capabilities for omnichannel retailing — a seamless, integrated shopping experience, whether the customers are in the store or online. The major reason: customer expectations are rising, in part thanks to the strides made by new competitors with business models built on technology, and pure-play retailers like Amazon, which are not encumbered by legacy environments and physical stores.
 

By Matt Foster, Search Laboratory

The growth of mobile has made round-the-clock connectivity to the internet possible, allowing consumers to shop anywhere at any time. To cater for 24-hour convenience and on-the-go shopping, retailers are turning to innovative technology.