Data & Analytics

The world’s biggest online retailer took a big step to move drone deliveries forward.   Amazon has entered into a partnership with the British government that will allow the retailer to test and develop new drone delivery systems.  

While consultants have argued for decades that workforce management (WFM) is a mixture of art and science, it is neither. It comes down to profit and applying practical – not over-engineered – workforce management practices that enable higher performing retail operations.   

Walmart has asked suppliers to remove "high priority chemicals," such as formaldehyde and triclosan, from their products as part of an effort to eliminate controversial chemicals from household goods.

Online retailer Hollar is looking to take sales away from a segment that, to date, has proved relatively immune to digital growth: dollar stores.  

Personalization continues to be the trend that just won’t go away, probably because it’s the new normal in how consumers want to interact with brands and retailers. Personalized videos hold the promise to surprise and delight (and covert), especially as we collectively spend more and more of our time viewing videos online. And personalized promotions help retailers maximize scarce marketing dollars, ensuring the right customer gets the right call to action at the right time.

That sound of nervous pacing you hear every night at 3 a.m.? It’s America’s retail executives. They’re feeling the pressures of a rapidly evolving sales landscape and trying to figure out how to stay one step ahead — or just keep up.   From demanding consumers who expect a bargain at every turn to new technologies, from an aggressive e-commerce marketplace to a U.S. economy that refuses to kick into gear with any consistency, the challenges retailers are facing demand a shift in thinking and strategy.

Forrester Research has identified the retailers with the most and least satisfactory experience, and a very prominent name scored poorly.  

The first fully autonomous drone delivery to a customer home has occurred, and the retailer behind it is not who you would expect.   Leading convenience chain 7-Eleven partnered with independent drone delivery service Flirtey and the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems (NIAS) to complete two deliveries from a store in Reno, Nevada on Sunday, July 10. 7-Eleven merchandise, including hot and cold food items, were loaded into a Flirtey drone delivery container and flown autonomously using precision GPS to a local customer’s house.

Efficient Collaborative Retail Marketing (ECRM), a leader in business innovation and technology, has hired retail business-to-business media veteran Wayne Bennett as senior VP, retail to lead business process initiatives between the retail industry and the supplier community that serves them.