When customers shop at your store, do they feel confident, secure, and supported? According to a survey Bob Phibbs conducted in partnership with Oracle NetSuite and Wakefield, they don’t. How effectively, in general, do you find that retailers connect with shoppers in their stores?
According to a survey conducted by Incisiv in collaboration with Microsoft for JDA Software, retail executives are hoping the cloud and artificial intelligence can guide the merging of online and offline experiences. Do you see AI and the cloud solving many of retail’s challenges around inventory visibility, unified commerce and underutilization of data?
Facing a shortage of truck drivers nationwide, Walmart last week hiked the annual pay for its truck drivers to nearly $90,000 a year and said it is looking to hire 900 more this year. Do you see trucker shortages or rising freight costs as a bigger problem for retailers?
According to an evaluation of about 2,000 retail websites from OrderDynamics, only 38.1 percent of retailers show basic inventory visibility on product pages. How transparent should retailers be in giving consumers information on inventory availability?
With shoppers desiring ever-more convenience, all sorts of new self-service shopping models were on display at the recent NRF Show in New York, including the “NanoStore.” Is there an opportunity for stores similar to the NanoStore concept to be successful in the U.S.?
Luxury beauty retailer Cos Bar is launching a section within its stores to experiment with new brands that might play well with its customers. Is such an initiative a good way for retail chains to experiment with new products before deciding to roll them out on a wider basis?
Newsweek has published its first annual ranking of retailers delivering the best customer service, and a few of the companies chosen based on a survey of 20,000 U.S. consumers may surprise you. What factors are most important to you in determining the customer service levels of a particular retailer?
Buy online, pick up in-store appeared to have reached a tipping point this past holiday season with more consumers taking advantage of the options. Do you see optimizing inventory, labor or some other aspect as the main challenge to BOPIS execution?
Forget drones for home deliveries of online orders. That was the consensus of a variety of industry experts at NRF, on conquering the challenges of the last mile. How do you see the battle between Amazon and the major carriers for last mile deliveries shaking out over the next several years?
Home Depot may be the biggest name in home improvement, but Lowe’s is hoping to change that by partnering with the biggest name in professional sports. How will Lowe’s sponsorship of the NFL affect the public’s perception of its brand?
