Omnichannel

New York - Digital interactions are expected to influence 64 cents of every dollar spent in retail stores by the end of 2015, or $2.2 trillion. According to Deloitte Digital's latest study, "Navigating the New Digital Divide,” this figure has grown considerably from 14 cents of each dollar spent in brick-and-mortar stores in 2012, the first year Deloitte Digital conducted the annual study.

Walmart is partnering with Chinese e-commerce powerhouse Alibaba to allow customers to make purchases using mobile devices in 25 of its stores in southern China.

Sephora is looking to increase online sales by expanding its omnichannel capabilities in China with a new flagship store on JD.com.

Sephora says its JD.com store will be the largest cosmetics store on JD.com's platform, featuring over 1,200 items from more than 70 leading international cosmetic brands, including Dior, Guerlain, Givenchy, Benefit and Kenzoki, among dozens of others.

Lebanon, Tenn. - Cracker Barrel Old Country Store will roll out the QSR Partners DineTime solution at all locations nationwide, with plans to complete the installment by the end of summer 2015. DineTime offers features such as wait list management, online reservations, customer data collection, a mobile customer app and more.

Austin, Texas – Video and text messaging app Tango is partnering with Wal-Mart and Alibaba to offer full e-commerce functionality inside the Tango app. Tango is rolling out functionality to U.S. users, which will provide them with the ability to browse and purchase items available from Wal-Mart and the AliExpress international shopping site, which is hosted by Alibaba.

By Kris Bjorson, JLL

Cost versus customer experience: As retailers compete on customer experience throughout the omni-channel supply chain process, the type of real estate and where it is located is playing a major role. In fact, according to JLL research, seven out of 10 retailers are still shaping their omnichannel product offering and customer service commitments.

The majority of retailers plan to use gamification to increase engagement with customers, according to a new survey.

Cupertino, Calif. – Apple Inc. is reportedly holding discussions with Alibaba Holding Group Inc. and several Chinese banks to launch Apple Pay mobile payment in China. According to the Xinhua official Chinese news agency, Apple CEO Tim Cook said he is “bullish” on Apple Pay in China and thinks it could gain traction more quickly in China than it has in the U.S. since its September 2014 launch.