Systems Integration

Discerning consumers expect more from their online shopping experiences, especially during the busy holiday season when timely delivery, readily available products, and seamless checkout and return policies are more important than ever. In fact, the holiday season is often a “make or break” time for most retailers, particularly smaller ones eager to make a big…

With increasing pressure to move e-commerce goods faster while reducing costs, combined with strained labor markets, the allure of automation technology is clear — get more done with less pressure on your warehouse staff. Not all automation is created equal, however, these tools — from autonomous mobile robots and automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS)…

The term “omnichannel” became more than a buzzword in the retail space when the pandemic forced countless store owners to enable new avenues for customer interaction as quickly as possible. At first, the term simply entailed a retailer's ability to support a variety of purchasing channels, whether they be online, on social media, or in…

Too often, brands and retailers treat their e-commerce and in-store operations as separate businesses. Each has its own product assortment, pricing strategy, inventory availability, and key performance indicators. These businesses tend to wage harmful internal battles for resources and attribution that distract from the needs of the larger organization and/or end consumer. The truth is…

Bed Bath & Beyond was doing roughly 15 percent of its sales online in 2019 before the pandemic initiated an online shopping boom. As of last summer, 25 percent to 30 percent of the retailer’s revenue came from e-commerce. And yet, Bed Bath & Beyond just declared bankruptcy. As with many retail stories, the proverbial devil…

Wayfair is prioritizing innovation across its organization, supported by technology providers like Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions. While at the National Retail Federation Big Show in New York City last week, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan spoke with Kevin O’Riordan, head of physical retail and supply chain engineering at Wayfair, and Fredrik Carlegren, vice president of marketing and communications at Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions. In…

Strong data governance is crucial for retailers nowadays. To keep up with the competitive market, companies must deliver customer-centric retail strategies that can respond to the ever-changing wants and needs of the consumer. This means developing a data strategy that provides a holistic view of customers. Red Wing Shoes, the durable and comfortable footwear manufacturer,…

For all their virtues, a common complaint about customer data platforms (CDPs) and CRM systems is the prolonged training times that these technologies require in order to realize their benefits. The most valuable capabilities on these platforms are in many cases only accessible to those technicians that have acquired hard-won skills and mastered their complexities.…

Total experience (TX) bridges customer, employee, and user experience disciplines into one transformational retail experience that unifies every customer touchpoint, aligns a retail brand across every channel and platform, harmonizes business functions, and establishes complete trust within the customer journey. TX is focused on creating stronger, more holistic experiences for those who engage with your…

Brands know that creating an optimal commerce experience is critical for generating revenue, building customer loyalty, and staying competitive against the experiences provided by leading retailers. However, customer experience (CX) quality has declined in 2022, reversing the progress made in 2021, according to Forrester’s latest U.S. Customer Experience Index™. And while marketers often look to…