Data & Analytics

It takes a lot of work for retail brands to deliver a remarkable experience. However, it can be done by making sure the environment provides a sensory experience. A sensory experience affects a human’s sense of sound, sight, touch, smell and taste. Retailers often naturally focus on sight, primarily caring about how the space looks. But what they don’t realize is that the look and feel of the environment encompasses a lot more than simply how it appears.   

Destination Maternity is making it easier for its customers to connect with the brand.   The maternity clothing retailer transitioned from a custom e-commerce platform to Salesforce Commerce Cloud, with the help of global commerce provider Lyonscg. The transition enabled the chain to launch customized mobile sites for its Motherhood, Motherhood Canada, A Pea in the Pod and Destination Maternity brands. All sites feature more intuitive navigation, improved site merchandising and on-site search, and easier check out.   

One of the most closely watched holiday forecasts has good news for retailers.   The National Retail Federation said it expects holiday retail sales in November and December to increase between 3.6% and 4% for a total of $678.75 billion to $682 billion. In 2016, up from $655.8 billion last year. The NRF forecast, which excludes automobiles, gasoline and restaurants, would meet or exceed last year’s growth of 3.6% and the five-year average of 3.5%.   

Online-only retailers may be taking a toll on omnichannel companies, but traditional companies are finding ways to fight back.   This was according to “Brick-and-Mortar Retailers Fight Back: Winning Strategies to Compete with Online-Only Players,” a report from Applied Predictive Technologies (APT).  

Walmart is determined not to be bested by Amazon when it comes to same-day delivery.   The discounter announced on Tuesday that it has acquired Parcel, a last-mile delivery startup that specializes in delivery of perishable items and general merchandise to customers in New York City. Operating out of a warehouse in Brooklyn, Parcel delivers goods the same-day, overnight and in scheduled two-hour windows, providing customers with live updates via text messages throughout the delivery process.   

Who are the leading women working in retail technology? Chain Store Age is accepting nominations for its annual feature recognizing female executives who are helping to transform the retail industry through technology.   The “Top 10 Women in Retail Tech” will celebrate the achievements of retail executives from all areas of technology. The winners will be profiled in a special section of the January 2018 issue of Chain Store Age, as well as in an online report on chainstoreage.com.  

The days of traditional brick-and-mortar are in serious transition. As the Internet commoditizes many store-bought products, new ways of thinking are required. Current technology represents retailers' best chance to jump the board. Technology always favors the early adopters.   Here are seven emerging techno-plays that are potential game-changers for physical retailers. Make the move now to be in a position to reap the rewards.   1. Build Smart 

A specialty retailer is streamlining its merchandising operations.   Gap's Intermix division has become the company's first brand to transition to the cloud. The upscale specialty retailer is leveraging Oracle’s cloud-based platform to drive efficiencies across merchandising and inventory management. The platform supports end-to-end operational efficiencies and empowers the business teams among specialty apparel company Intermix.  

To effectively service shoppers at store-level, managers need to evolve beyond their sales roles and become “problem solvers.”   This means store managers must learn to master the combination of order fulfillment, inventory visibility and staffing to keep up with customer demands, according to the “Voice of Store Manager Survey,” a study from JDA Software Group. The second annual study is based on responses from 252 US-based retail store managers compiled in August.  

Thanks to Wernher von Braun, who developed the Saturn V rocket in the Alabama town, Huntsville is known as the Rocket City. Now the appellation is being applied to its population.