2017 was a more eventful year in retail than many probably expected. This week and next, we will review the year, and consider what its developments tell us about the state of the sector and the strategies retailers are adopting… Continue Reading
Some 40 years ago, American Express told its credit card holders, “Don’t leave home without it.” If that famous ad campaign were created today, it would likely refer to users’ smartphones, not their credit cards. That is because electronic payment… Continue Reading
Walmart versus Amazon is perhaps the biggest retail battle of our times—and Amazon’s encroachment into brick-and-mortar grocery retailing with its Whole Foods Market acquisition has only heightened the competition. Coincidentally, both of these retail giants have recently made the unusual… Continue Reading
At the time of writing, we are only a couple of days away from stores opening early on Thanksgiving and then welcoming crowds of shoppers over the weekend that includes Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Super Sunday and the big… Continue Reading
Singles’ Day, November 11, is the biggest online shopping day in the world. The holiday was originally created in the 1990s by Chinese college students who wanted to celebrate their single status. In 2009, Alibaba used the idea to market… Continue Reading
Tired of long checkout lines? Do not worry. We think 2018 could be the year when checkout-less stores go mainstream thanks to a glut of new technologies that will turn our local shops into something akin to giant vending machines.… Continue Reading
Amazon, since its founding, has steadily expanded its product portfolio from just books initially to a massive assortment of goods. In the last couple of years, the company has experimented with offering clothing and food. In terms of clothing, Amazon… Continue Reading
Putting the Holidays in Context Like it or not, the passing of Halloween means that we are now racing toward the holidays. There are a handful of calendar events that each contribute billions to US retail sales throughout the year… Continue Reading
In the ancient days, before e-commerce, when you wanted to return something, you had to go back to the store where you bought it (if you bought it in a store) or wait in line at the post office, if… Continue Reading
In the beginning, there was Siri. The groundbreaking voice assistant only worked with recent-model iPhones, however, and its imperfect voice recognition led it to be the object of many a joke and cartoon. Siri’s wake saw additional assistants from other… Continue Reading