Data & Analytics

French specialty apparel retailer Kiabi has to keep up with the constantly changing world of fashion.

Kiabi, which operates more than 500 stores in 32 countries and also has an online presence, is using the SoftwareAG webMethids API (application programming interface) management platform to enable maximum operational flexibility. Kiabi is building cloud-based systems on the API to eliminate internal silos and open core business functions, both inside the enterprise and with external business partners.

Specialty cosmetics retailer Urban Decay is taking a lively approach to online customer engagement.

Urban Decay plans to launch a new content-driven website later this fall using the FirstSpirit content management system. The new “UD All Access” site will complement Urban Decay’s existing Demandware-based e-commerce site with the intention of delivering a richer, more immersive and interactive experience

“I’ll try the red.” It’s a phrase heard in bars and restaurants across the globe. But in Nordstrom, at their tapas bar? It’s wine in a department store one week, and perhaps a pint or a flight at Bar Lamar in Whole Foods the next, because who could say no to a nice aperitif while picking up the weekly groceries?

Spoken word is the oldest form of human communication.

It’s also one of the newest technology trends enabling omnichannel retail. Voice-based communications are having on a dramatic impact on how retailing is seamlessly executed. Here are three key areas where voice is supporting omnichannel operations across the retail enterprise.

Picking

As the holiday season creeps up and Black Friday is just around the corner, successful companies are finalizing plans to maximize their seasonal revenues. A holiday retail sales forecast from eMarketer estimates a year-over-year increase of 5.7%, hitting an all-time high of $886 billion. To help retailers capture a larger slice of the expanding holiday pie, digital marketing services company eClerx Digital has identified three top strategies focused on optimization.

Walmart is one step closer to fulfilling its mission of donating $100 million toward increasing the economic mobility of entry-level workers. 

The retailer and its Walmart Foundation are donating nearly $1 million to Innovate+Educate to fund research and build recommendations that support the advancement of entry-level workers in retail and adjacent sectors.

Spoken word is the oldest form of human communication. It’s also one of the newest technology trends enabling omnichannel retail.

Voice-based communications are having on a dramatic impact on how retailing is seamlessly executed. Here are three key areas where voice is supporting omnichannel operations across the retail enterprise.

High shipping costs are the major barrier to adoption of global online shopping.

That is according to the 2015 Pitney Bowes Online Shopping study. High shipping costs (64%) were ranked as the biggest barrier in the survey, followed by additional fees owed at time of delivery (48%) and product delivery taking too long (39%).

Product returns are also a major concern, as 33% of global shoppers cited online return policies and processes as deterrents.