Data & Analytics

User data from Pinterest shows that more than one-in-three of its 100 million global users are millennials. In addition, 79% of millennial Pinterest users say the platform is a “guide to life and is a place to teach me how to do things,” compared with 71% of all Pinterest monthly users.

Other notable millennial-related findings include:

At first glance, hardware cooperative Ace Hardware Corp. and video game chain GameStop Corp. are two retailers with little in common. However, both are leveraging their physical stores as fulfillment points for omnichannel purchases.

Ace is the place with in-store pickup

Oak Brook, Illinois-based Ace Hardware Corp. operates more than 4,400 stores and a distribution network of 14 retail support centers (RSCs) across the U.S. The company leverages this physical footprint to help meet the needs of online shoppers.

The generation born between the early 1980s and the year 2000 — labeled millennials — has captured the collective attention of retail marketers. And not just because there are more than 80 million of them, although that’s a factor. This group craves access, not necessarily ownership, and they have a real affinity for technology, which is shaping the retail space.

Golf is a sport that rewards precision, and that extends to meeting customer demand across multiple channels.

That is why Atlanta-based, 25-store PGA Tour Superstore is leveraging the SPS Commerce Fulfillment platform to obtain actionable insights into back-end data that is crucial to support a seamless customer experience. This includes inventory levels, order status, shipment details, and payment and returns.

The retail industry has reached a point of progress with robotics where it is not enough to look at how robots will drive business transformation, but at how they are already doing so.

Following are three key retail areas where robots have already begun to make their presence felt:

Fulfillment and Distribution

Bostonians are notorious for their love of locally based coffee chain Dunkin’ Donuts, and now the retailer is making it easier for them to get their daily fix.

According to the Boston Herald, Dunkin’ Donuts is expanding a pilot of on-demand delivery to about 200 stores in the Greater Boston area. The retailer is partnering with third-party delivery services Favor and DoorDash, both of whom try to get items to customers within an hour of placing a digital order.

With the retail environment changing so rapidly today, and technology impacting everything a store does, the role of the chief financial officer has become more important than ever.

When I started recruiting in 1990, the business was much simpler — we hired retail executives based on a linear skillset, and departments operated in individual silos. Today, it is much more complex, as the C-suite works in collaboration to keep up with an increasingly savvy consumer.

So, what then do you look for in a CFO today?

There are a lot of options in decorating a home, and Los Angeles-based Z Gallerie wants to match its offerings to customer tastes.

“We’ve been known for one particular style, which our customers love and that we’ve done quite well with,” said Chris Nicklo, VP customer and chief marketing officer of Z Gallerie. “But to grow, we knew we would need to appeal to a broader spectrum of customers.”