eCommerce

RadioShack has lost its CEO after he served only nine months on the job.

The Southeast’s leading supermarket operator will give new meaning to its tag line “where shopping is a pleasure” when it opens a new small format on the campus

E-commerce retailers might think new customers acquired during the holiday season are a gift, but they many not keep on giving.

Amazon.com is getting its nose out of books and consumer electronics and into a more fashionable merchandise area.

According to Re/Code, Amazon now offers more than 30 million apparel and accessory items for sale – which totals more than all the products sold at 250 Walmart supercenter stores.

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RadioShack has lost its CEO after he served only nine months on the job.

Ron Garriques has stepped down as chief executive of the consumer electronics chain in order “to pursue other interest in a role that will put him back closer to his family,”   the retailer said in a statement to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The company's CFO, Gordon Briscoe,  will serve as interim CEO until a replacement is found.

A specialty retailer whose tagline is “Where America is made,” is betting on brick and mortar to tell its brand story and provide more jobs.

Shinola, the Detroit-based retailer and manufacturer of pricey watches, leather goods and bicycles plans to open 10 stores this year, and 12 to 15 stores annually over the next coming years.

2016 will be a year when many niche innovations in customer experience will become mainstream as consumers expect more out of their shopping experiences, forcing traditional retailers to step up or risk becoming irrelevant. Marketplace buzzwords and emerging trends, such as personalization and seamless mobile access, will become table-stake elements of the customer experience.

Here are ways retailers will take their customer experience to the next level:

Personalization

Consumers are increasing their use of apps for a specific purpose that should make retailers happy.

According to a new survey of U.S. adults conducted by KRC Research for Verizon, 56% of consumers made a product purchase with a smartphone app in 2015. This figure includes 23% of smartphone owners who purchased a product with an app for the first time.

By age group, 70% of millennials age 18-34 made a product purchase using an app in 2015, an 85% increase from 2014. This led 66% of Gen Xers and 39% of Baby Boomers who did so.