This year’s National Retail Federation (NRF) Conference made it clear that retailers must continue to focus investment on delivering seamless, omnichannel experiences for customers while simultaneously improving operational efficiencies. Some major takeaways from this year’s NRF conference were that retailers need to implement technologies that reduce in-store friction, and must seek out ways to merge eCommerce technology with in-store experience. Here are four takeaways from the conference that can help retail stores.
Decathlon has over 1,600 sporting goods stores globally and, more recently, they have expanded their presence in the U.S. market. In order to drive seamless customer experiences at scale, Decathlon partnered with MuleSoft to build a foundation of reusable APIs — making it easier to plug in new services.
Over the last few years, eCommerce has boomed and quickly become an important part of our day-to-day lives. The line between online and in-store shopping experiences is diminishing.
In the 60 years since its foundation as a single gas station in Virginia, Pilot Flying J has grown to be the largest operator of travel centers in North America. With over 750 locations serving more than 1.6 million professional drivers and traveling motorists daily, Pilot Flying J provides its guests with overnight parking, showers, warm meals, Wi-Fi, and a vast array of merchandise.
It is a common misconception that omnichannel is a matter of connecting system A to system B to create a new mobile app or bring the latest channel online. Today, omnichannel is about becoming channel-agnostic. And if there is one thing the last decade has taught us, it is that new channels and new ways of interacting with consumers emerge rapidly.
Digital technology has transformed the retail industry over the past decade. The rise of eCommerce is at the centre of these changes, presenting both a major opportunity and a threat for retailers. Retailers of all shapes and sizes now require an online presence to be successful, whether the retailer is a major high-street chain running a flagship eCommerce site or a small boutique hosting its store on an Amazon micro-site. With the internet effectively flattening the retail marketplace,
In retail, you often hear the word “channel” when describing how products are delivered to the customer. But actually, a channel is a bit more involved. A retail channel is the end-to-end set of locations, processes, and technologies products pass through from the point of manufacture to the end-customer.
I recall a conversation with a Forrester analyst in 2004 on the topic of “retail channel integration.” Essentially, the gist of the discussion was centered on the integration of the online (eCommerce) channel with the store channel.
