ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
- 9/1/2023
Don’t Run AI in Silos: Democratized Data and AI Can Connect a Retailer End to End
For all the potential that AI and machine learning can offer a retailer, its value is extremely curtailed if it operates in a silo. It’s an interesting dilemma that hearkens back to the age-old problem of retailers not working across the organization. - 8/31/2023
Organic Valley Goes DTC With New Merch Store
Organic Valley is going direct-to-consumer in a new way through the launch of a branded merchandise store intended to support small family farms. - 8/24/2023
Complex Commerce: Managing the Multi-Store Problem
Despite massive investments in digital transformation, the soaring trajectory of innovation, and consumers who increasingly expect exceptional commerce experiences, much of the infrastructure powering digital commerce has remained unchanged for the past 20 years. The limitations and perceived complexity of traditional e-commerce catalogs have made it difficult for multi-faceted businesses like franchises, channel partnerships, multi-brand organizations, and distributor-to-supplier networks to succeed. In reality, however, the problem is not complexity. The problem is a lack of strategic processes for managing that complexity, leading to poor integration of new data into catalogs and diminished brand identity, tarnishing the customer experience and reducing revenue. Poorly managed complexity causes back-office systems issues that ripple into front-end consumer interfaces and experiences. - 8/24/2023
Backup Power Strategies to Help Ride Out Storm Season
For retailers, who rely on distributed IT infrastructure to support both in-store and eCommerce sales, weather-related outages like these could result in downtime or lost business data that severely disrupts the ability to do business. With federal agencies urging the public to prepare for the storm activity expected in the months ahead, retailers should take measures now to protect their IT investments. - 8/23/2023
Why Focusing on the Manufacturer-Retailer Relationship is a Winning Strategy
Manufacturers and retailers have always had an important, symbiotic relationship. Given the supply chain issues caused by the pandemic, however, that relationship changed. With difficulty moving products from one place to another, many manufacturers began exploring direct-to-consumer sales as a way to maintain growth through uncertain times. In fact, D2C sales have been on a steady upswing for years, and are projected to surpass $200 billion by 2024. - 8/18/2023
How AI Model Testing and Monitoring Protect Retailers’ Bottom Lines
According to the World Economic Forum, retail spending on AI is predicted to grow from $4.9B in 2021 to $52B by 2029. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) have the potential for far-reaching impact on retailers and brands. High-quality ML systems have been proven to deliver real ROI in use cases such as marketing propensity, search, recommendations, forecasting, improving customer experience, supply chain management, fraud detection and prevention, and more. - 8/17/2023
3 Reasons Retailers Should Leave Manual Workforce Management in the Past
Everything from holidays and weekends to business locations and weather patterns impacts each retailer differently. Now, as a result of the pandemic, inflation and increased popularity of online shopping, it has become especially difficult to forecast consumer spending habits and plan labor operations accordingly. This unpredictability has created two significant challenges for retailers still relying on manual workforce management (WFM) processes: how to accurately forecast customer demand and how to schedule the appropriate number of people needed to meet it. Fortunately, the key to solving this headache is simple: ditch manual workforce management and utilize a WFM solution that delivers intelligent automation. - 8/10/2023
Creating an Effective Retail Omnichannel Experience for Consumers
The new norm for the modern-day consumer includes access to multiple, convenient channels when interacting with a business. By combining your company’s touchpoints and contact channels to create an omnichannel customer experience, this will significantly enhance a consumer’s brand journey. - 8/7/2023
A Beginner’s Guide To Creating a Subscription Box Service
In today’s economy, retailers cannot afford to let their industry’s notorious unpredictability continuously chip away at profit margins. Their success depends on their abilities to not only forecast demand but also stabilize their income in general, ideally with the help of a loyal customer base. - 8/4/2023
Optimizing Queue Management - Don’t Let Self-Checkout Glitches Become an Achilles Heel
In spite of the progress society has made eliminating inconveniences, waiting in line remains “a timeless form of torture.” According to one new survey, Americans spend roughly 37 billion hours each year waiting in line, with retail stores highlighted as the worst offender. In fact, estimates show that Americans spend more time waiting in line at retail stores than at restaurants, pharmacies, doctor offices and banks combined.