2021 was not the year many had hoped for. The pandemic, natural disasters, inflation, supply chain issues and a persistently polarized planet has put humanity’s resilience to the test. Yet, with the new year’s arrival, there is renewed hope that conditions will stabilize and provide retailers with a clearer look ahead. As a future-focused strategic […]
What Will 2022 Look Like for Retail Brands? Read More »
Back in 1964, Canadian communication theorist Marshall McLuhan coined the phrase the medium is the message. For McLuhan, he hoped the phrase would help “draw attention to the fact that a medium is not something neutral–it does something to people. It takes hold of them.” Oh, if only he was alive today. Almost 60 years
Digital Marketing Strategies for 2021 Read More »
Technology has been a salvation during the pandemic and has thrust us into the age of omni-channel once and for all. And yet, there is a looming threat to the digital brand experience: a growing sense of mistrust in technology and the cyber-verse. Fanned by the flames of fake news, online hate and political interference,
Digital Distrust: How Brands Can Navigate a World of Disruption Read More »
As retailers look to provide a credible response to the online-only threat of companies such as Amazon and eBay, the option for buying online and picking-up in store (BOPIS) is gaining traction. The initiative is part of a larger focus on providing customers with greater convenience, from speeding up delivery and reducing inefficiencies, to better leveraging
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No one doubts that artificial intelligence and automation will change the role of staff in retail environments. The question is, how? A new theory is starting to play out in some industries and may come as a surprise: the reaction to an automated experience is a yearning for more human interaction. In a way, though,
What Automation Means for Staffing in Retail Read More »
Seniors are about to take over the world. Between 2025 and 2050, the number of seniors on the planet will double, and for the first time in history, there will be more people over 65 than children under age 5. How this massive demographic change will impact us is not entirely clear, but industries need
What Retirees Need from their Banks Read More »
Robots, chatbots, virtual reality, and geofencing are some of the hottest new tech trends that retailers are testing out — but how do you know what’s just a fad and what investment will deliver lasting results? Retailers know they need digital experiences, but at the current pace of change it’s easy to put the cart
How Digital Can Help Employees Deliver Better Service Read More »
With Amazon Go’s “just walk out” grocery store finally up and running as of January 2018, everyone in the supermarket industry from cashiers to CEOs are watching with bated breath. Is Amazon intending to implement throughout the Whole Foods network? Will other grocers adopt the same strategy? Will governments start taxing and regulating automation with rollouts
Will Your Customers Love or Hate Automation in 2025? Read More »
The convenience of Amazon Go – a completely automated shopping experience, free of cashiers, queues, and check-out counters – hasn’t quite materialized as quickly as promised. When the retail giant first announced its ambitious concept, it promised to bring the idea to the public by early 2017, but so far the project seems to be floundering. While
How Retailers Will Compete with Amazon Go Read More »
There is no question that automation can provide banks with benefits beyond efficiency. However, in the excitement around the new possible efficiencies that more intelligent machines can offer, banks may be inclined to jump the gun and invest in a “smart” system that will end up costing them in the end. Not only is there
What Not to Automate Read More »
