Omnichannel

When UGG Australia began evaluating how shoppers wanted to engage with its brand, the footwear company — best known for its popular sheepskin boots — decided to augment its wholesale channel and digital presence with freestanding brick-and-mortar stores.

“Retail [freestanding stores] allows Deckers to showcase the UGG product in ways that many of our partners may be unable [to do],” said Yul Vanek, VP information technology for Deckers Outdoor, the Goleta, Calif.-based parent of UGG, Teva and other banners.

From mobile payments to mining big data for customer insights, savvy retailers are using all the tools at their disposal to engage and connect with shoppers and provide relevant, convenient and personalized shopping experiences across all channels.

As retailers competitively position themselves for growth in 2013 and beyond, there are a number of hot buttons or key considerations that will be driving their strategies. Here is a look at some of the top ones:

Marketing and IT collaboration

Amazon.com, LLBean.com and QVC.com were the top three retailers on ForeSee’s Annual Holiday E-Retail Satisfaction survey.

New York City -- Cache said Thursday it has launched a new mobile app shopping experience through its partnership with Usablenet, a mobile and multichannel platform company.

Through the mobile app, customers can now receive relevant content and promotions in a user friendly device. This introduction complements Cache's mobile web store and offers the full range of Cache designs.

When it comes to mobile commerce and digital solutions, Sears Holdings has evolved into a best-in-class company, one that has truly embraced the cross-channel shopping experience. Seeking ways to make shopping more convenient for its customers, the chain was among the first to offer visibility to in-store inventory, as well as the ability to buy online and pick up in-store.

Getting closer to the customer has always been important to retailers, but never more so than it is today. Chain Store Age spoke with SAP’s Lori Mitchell-Keller about the transformational shifts that are shaking up the retail model.

All the buzz today is about how retailers need to get closer to the customer, but what exactly does it mean?

New York City -- Research results released Wednesday by Chase found that online holiday shopping sales for the season rose 15.2% year-over-year.

By event, the Chase Holiday Pulse reported that from Black Friday Nov. 23 through Friday, Nov. 30, year-over-year sales increased 22.5% and transactions increased 32.7%.

Online sales have continue to break new records this holiday season even though traffic to top retail sites during November was down compared to the same month the prior year.