When the App Store opened more than a decade ago, smartphone users couldn’t have possibly imagined the vast array of tools they would hold in the palms of their hands today. Each of us is now individually armed with a digital swiss-army knife of apps, personally curated to cater to each and every one of our wants and needs. We have instant access to almost anything we want, whenever we want it. This level of convenience has become so prevalent that it is now the consumer expectation. In fact, in a study fielded by American Express U.S. consumers say they’re willing to spend 17% more to do business with companies that deliver excellent service.  But, as it turns out, that level of convenience doesn’t come free.  

When the impact of the California Privacy Protection Act is discussed, the business community tends to be treated as a homogenous block with homogenous interests. Of course, it isn’t. “The business community” has, in many ways, a much more diverse set of perspectives than other stakeholders in the data privacy discussion. Some businesses are built on the back of user data and have efficient data management at the core of their identity. Others are built on the back of pizza. Let me explain. A few weeks ago I visited a regional pizza chain at one of their four San Francisco locations. I ate a truly delicious pie. But, job-obsessed as I am, I realized I was looking around the restaurant while eating, wondering to myself: Who exactly is looking out for businesses like this when CCPA comes into effect on January 1st, 2020? A regional pizza chain is not a FAANG (Facebook-Apple-Amazon-Netflix-Google)-sized company. User data is a useful but secondary component of their business. Most pizza chains can’t employ lobbyists to bring their concerns directly to privacy regulators. They are unlikely to have huge internal legal and technology departments. Their marketing teams, if they’re in-house, are less likely to have…

Richard Howells, VP of Solution Marketing for Digital Supply Chain at SAP, answers questions about the benefits and challenges of subscription-based retailing models.

How you handle customer complaints often determines if you build or lose relationships with busy shoppers. This is especially true online where retailers often rely on remote contact center agents to resolve things. While lacking the opportunity for face-to-face interactions, service-savvy agents know how to sooth and assuage unsatisfied customers. According to CustomerThink: “96% of unhappy customers don't complain, however, 91% of those will simply leave and never come back.”In Groove, Salesforce suggests “74% of people are likely to switch brands if they find the purchasing process too difficult.”

Though the first wave of P2P Analytics was born in the CPG/Retail space, retailers and consumer products groups now find themselves falling behind in its adoption and application. P2P arose as market-leading brands found that legacy brand strength was losing its ability to deliver growth. New, digital native competitors were entering the market and younger shoppers no longer had the same brand allegiances. P2P Analytics held out the promise of providing a better understanding of where and why legacy brands were losing shoppers.

Running a retail business is not unlike pushing a boulder uphill while trying not to break the eggs in the bowl you are balancing on your head. It takes equal parts strength, endurance, balance and ingenuity to reach the top. "Click-and-collect" is an essential tool for retailers — it can carry your bowl of eggs so you can focus on the rock. Over the past decade, retailers have discovered the benefits of giving customers a choice of channels. But as retail evolves beyond omnichannel, customers are evolving, too, both in their comfort level with technology and in their path to purchase.

(Pictured: Left, Will Hankla; Right, Brandon Pemberton) Over the last decade, the industry dynamics for food companies have radically changed. New distribution points have emerged as convenience, discount and e-Commerce options have begun to directly compete with traditional grocery. Consumers have fallen in love with small brands that gained placement in large retailers — brands that are now taking market share from incumbents. Yet total demand has not increased. In fact, overall food consumption in the U.S. has barely kept pace with population growth over the past few decades. At the start of the recession in 2008, consumers chased value and lower price points, compounding the challenges of sluggish product growth. Private label products captured share as consumers perceived them to be quality alternatives to branded products. In turn, food brands reduced prices to remain competitive.

Before the first leaf dropped on a cool, crisp autumn day, holiday decorations were already on display in most local retail stores, reminding us all of the biggest shopping season to come. I admit, I am a sucker for a good Black Friday sale; I already planned for my future house appliance purchases to take place immediately after the stuffing was passed. With U.S. holiday sales rising 3.4% between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24, according to Mastercard, it is critical for every major retailer to have a strategic plan in place even as the season winds down. This strategy should consider every stage of your customers’ — and potential future customers’ — experience, starting at account creation through the initial transaction, which will then (hopefully) be followed by repeat transactions.

(Pictured from left to right: Kathryn Deal, Courtney York, Emily Fuller Opp) The retail industry is at the forefront of innovative uses of artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented, virtual and extended reality (XR). Not only can AI and XR tools increase business efficiency and opportunity, but they also enable retailers to provide the customized interactions and convenience that their customers desire. Below we explore current operational and legal trends impacting retail AI and XR.