TECHNOLOGY

Commentary: Amazon accelerating e-commerce disruption of apparel
Apparel is at a tipping point. E-commerce currently accounts for 17%-20% of total apparel sales in the U.S. Historically, when e-commerce surpasses the 20% threshold of a retail category Amazon comes in and makes a big wave, because Amazon is the main beneficiary of e-commerce capturing half of all growth in online retail. We’ve witnessed it time and time again in both media and electronics, and now it’s happening in apparel.
Study: Why shoppers choose offline over online
Physical stores still have some key benefits over online retail.

Amazon in big apparel move with 'try-before-you-buy' service
Whole Foods Markets CEO expects Amazon deal to evolve the brand

The ink is barely dry on Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods Markets, yet the natural grocer’s CEO implied that “big ideas” are already in the works.
Study: M-commerce growth helps shrink mobile user acquisition costs

Consumer reliance on mobility throughout their shopping journey presents a huge opportunity for retailers to engage shoppers. This is according to “Mobile Shopping: User Acquisition Trends and Benchmarks 2017,” a report from mobile app marketing provider Liftoff. The study analyzed 26.9 billion ad impressions across 4.8 million app installs between April 2016 and April 2017.
AmEx: Digital security concerns influence purchase behavior

Merchants may be losing out on potential e-commerce sales due to shoppers’ concerns over the security of their information in the digital world.
Online fashion retailer launches limited-edition beauty collections

Rue La La is bolstering its beauty sales by jumping into the beauty box category. The online apparel retailer is partnering with Conde Nast's Allure magazine to get the hottest beauty merchandise into shoppers’ hands. The team collaborated to create a series of one-of-a-kind boxes filled with products hand-selected by Allure's beauty experts and Rue La La's beauty buyers.
Don’t Blame Email: Retailers need to provide an adaptive customer experience

Reading business news and talking to retailers, I often hear about marketers’ disappointment in not reaching their email marketing goals. It’s become a real issue that they try to solve by sending more appealing emails with better offers more often. But still, it’s an uphill battle. Why? Because retailers aren’t really missing goals with email; the truth is that you can’t look at email as a stand-alone agent any longer. Today’s Elusive Shopper
Target extends its investment in online retail disruptor

Fast-growing mattress retailer Casper has closed on a new round of funding — with help from Target Corp.
Study: User-generated content influences most purchase decisions

Not only is user-generated content (UCG) the go-to source for 90% of shoppers making a purchase — it outranks all other forms of marketing. This is according to “Hearing the Voice of the Consumer: UCG and the Commerce Experience,” a report from TurnTo and executed by Ipsos. the report represents responses from more than 1,000 U.S. shoppers who made an online purchase in the past 12 months.