News

Interview with Michael Klein Director of Strategy at Adobe on Experience Cloud Developments, Conversational Commerce and more

In yet another fascinating conversation with Michael Klein Director of Industry Strategy at Adobe we discuss the Magento acquisition, a smaller voice acquisition and a lot moe key topics on how the world of retail, online and offline is changing. Adobe is one company you can bet will never...

Interview with b8ta founder and president Phillip Raub on building the platform for the future of retail

I spoke with Phillip Raub, founder and president of b8ta, the startup that's building a platform to build modern physical retail experiences on top of. B8ta has shown that the traditional mold of what a retail experience was can be broken and re-constructed successfully, and now some of the...

Fresh MIT Perspective on Current State of 3PL Industry

When the 3PL Value Creation North America Summit 2018 convenes in Chicago this October, shippers will hear from a diverse group of industry experts on how to drive the best deals with their lead providers in both the global and domestic arenas. As Armstrong & Associates' 6th annual summit...

The Advantage Brick-And-Mortar Stores Will Always Have Over Online Retail

Having operated retail stores as well as having an online platform for the last 15 years, I can say that my staff is more connected to our in-store customers and they are more connected to us. Recently, articles have chronicled the demise of brick-and-mortar retail stores and painted a...

How SF's legacy retailers reinvent themselves to survive

The 157-year-old luxury department store Gump's and Orchard Supply Hardware, founded during the Great Depression in San Jose, both said they will close by the end of the year. Good Vibrations holds regular events in its seven Bay Area stores and two in the Boston area, including a "Sip...

Bits & Bytes | Instagram's Retail Salvation, Online Retailers Compete for New Designers

Can Instagram Save Offline Shopping?"Stores are adapting not just to how people interact online, but also to the hunger of their own Instagram feeds. Social media has given companies new ways to track how effective their branches are, beyond simply footfall or year-on-year sales." Online Retailers Are Competing to...

E-commerce platform Neto expands to US

Brisbane-based retail and wholesale management platform Neto is entering the US market, with the company opening a Denver office following strong local growth. Neto chief executive and founder Ryan Murtagh told The Australian the time was now right for a US office. "Not only is Neto growing, but what's...

4 steps for retailers striving to be customer-centric

Retailers don't need expensive customer data platforms. Retailers can't just map the customer journey - they need to track the customer to know where to improve their marketing programs and effectively invest in their resources. These same technologies enable marketers to personalize the customer experience for each user by...

Can a Festival Help Zalando Build a Memorable Brand?

The former trade show-turned streetwear festival Bread & Butter is part of the German fashion e-commerce behemoth’s attempt to develop a more emotional connection with consumers....

Berkshire Hathaway's Deal With Paytm Is A Game Changer For India's E-Commerce

After becoming the go-to payments platform in the wake of India's demonetization, Paytm has received yet another boost from Berkshire Hathaway, which has reportedly acquired a 4% stake for about $350 million. Although Warren Buffett himself was not directly involved in the Paytm deal, the legendary investor had earlier...

4 steps for retailers striving to be customer-centric

Hard Lessons (Thanks, Amazon) Breathe New Life Into Retail Stores

As store closings set a record last year, no class of retailer was spared - with the carnage hitting Madison Avenue boutiques, shopping malls and big-box stores. "There has been a shakeout, and 2017 was seen as the bottom," said Melina Cordero, head of retail research for the Americas...

Interview with MPP Global SVP Melissa Pegus on subscription commerce, media business dynamics and workplace diversity

Melissa has an extensive background in e-commerce and subscription business models and currently a member of the senior executive team at MPP. Subscription commerce is a growing trend among brands and retailers and MPP helps companies with the payment as well as other aspects of the subscription mode. Subscription...

Udaan, the e-commerce startup led by three former Flipkart executives, raises $225M

The trio announced this morning that their B2B e-commerce startup Udaan had raised $225 million in Series C funding co-led by DST Global and Lightspeed Venture Partners, with capital coming out of the latter's growth fund. The cash infusion, according to Indian media reports, makes Udaan the fastest-ever Indian...

Interview with ShopGoodwill.com Sr. Director on using e-commerce to expand the reach of local Goodwill chapters and the Thrift business.

In my second interview with Goodwill Industries International I spoke with Ryan Smith, Sr. Director of e-commerce operations at shopgoodwill.com. In my first interview with Goodwill Industries International I spoke with Adam Stiska Director of Online and Mobile about the mobile app. In this interview I spoke with Ryan...

Interview with Michael Klein Director of Strategy at Adobe on Experience Cloud Developments, Conversational Commerce and more

European Retail Alliance launched

The European Retail Alliance has officially launched, three months after it was announced that European ecommerce companies MediaMarktSaturn and Fnac Darty wanted to form an alliance. European Retail Alliance is said to be Europe's answer to ecommerce giants such as Amazon and Alibaba. The German ecommerce company MediaMarktSaturn Retail...

Alibaba, Lowe's, Nordstrom, Target to speak at NRF 2019: Retail's Big Show

More than 37,000 retailers from nearly 100 countries will gather in New York City in January to address the latest trends, innovations and strategies for transformation at NRF 2019: Retail's Big Show. In addition to the retailers above, notable speakers will include former Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen and...

Downtown retail: Frustrating experience

I love Nordstrom, but there are only so many clothes to buy. We don't have a Microsoft Store - much less an Apple Store. We don't even rate a Microsoft kiosk at Pacific Place anymore. We used to have a Williams-Sonoma, a Pottery Barn and a Restoration Hardware store....

Interview with Corrine Allen, COO of Goodwill of Orange County on the ins and outs of the thrift business and the critical role non-profits play in our communities

In this interview I spoke with Corrine Allen COO of Goodwill of Orange County about her experience growing and leading an omni-channel retail organization with over 20 locations, online and 2000 employees....