Market Analysis

Hospitality challenges for 2013

With Retail Technology magazine’s November/December hospitality and foodservice feature hot off the press, sector expert Richard Dorf takes a closer look at what specialist challenges the New Year will hold

Riding the mobile wave

Vince Russell, who heads up a leading UK public Wi-Fi provider, discusses the benefits to retailers of bringing online into the store for increased revenues

Mobile retailers take ESL lead

E-paper specialist Shaun Gray examines how cutting-edge electronic shelf labelling (ESL) technology is enhancing the look of new stores, as well as simplifying pricing and labelling

CRM? But what about DRM?

But credit expert Elliot Howard argues that now it is the time for managing debtor relationships as well

Google moots search results change

News that the search giant is mulling a major change in the way it displays search results means retailers must diversify to stay on page one, according to expert Alex Wares

Tackling bugs and glitches

Software glitches and bugs cost High Street and online retailers dearly in terms of financials and reputational damage, according to software quality expert Peter Shieber

Retail event to examine RFID trends

EuroCIS 2013 in Düsseldorf finds track and trace technologies moving further into apparel retailing sector

The challenge of making mobile profitable

Mobile sales to be a source of growth for retailers sooner than expected, but the challenge of profitability must be tackled head on, argues e-retail expert Andy Lloyd

Exploiting the global franchise opportunity

With UK retailers struggling to achieve growth in the domestic market, many are looking to explore the franchise model internationally. But apparel industry expert Dominic Potter argues that many lack the necessary management systems

Still early days for P2PE: what retailers need to know

Recently a group of card payment industry practitioners gathered to discuss card security issues. A significant proportion of the debate focused on point-to-point encryption (P2PE). Payments expert Iain High explains the salient points.  

Still early days for P2PE: What retailers need to know

Recently a group of card payment industry practitioners gathered to discuss card security issues. A significant proportion of the debate focused on point-to-point encryption (P2PE). Payments expert Iain High explains the salient points.  

Point-to-point encryption Q&A

When it comes to protecting sensitive payment card data from security breaches and complying with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DASS), a layered protection is the best approach to network security according to payment networks expert, Simon Gamble

Exploiting the global franchise opportunity

With UK retailers struggling to achieve growth in the domestic market, many are looking to explore the franchise model internationally. But apparel industry expert Dominic Potter argues that many lack the necessary management systems

Making multichannel seamless: why retailers should prioritise usability across channels

Behavioural research expert Guy Redwood offers some advice to retailers about key usability considerations when developing a multichannel strategy

Optimising the customer experience

Connected consumers — armed with laptops, tablets and smartphones — are transforming the traditional retail experience, according retail supply chain expert Scott Welty. Whether they are checking prices right in the aisle, using brick-and-mortar stores as a ‘showroom’ to check out a potential online purchase, or turning to the web for reviews and opinions, consumers are more connected and better informed than ever

Employees must become workforce management focus

With an increased focus on exceptional customer service as a competitive differentiator, workforce management systems expert James Freshwater argues that retailers need to place greater emphasis on cultivating greater employee fulfilment

Is your website speedy enough for customers?

No matter how perfectly crafted and stylish an online storefront is, if it sputters when web pages are loading and forces shoppers to stare at a spinning hourglass for too many seconds, Terry Costa points out that retailers will lose shoppers to the competition

Why is ‘big data’ such a huge issue for retailers?

Hosted data expert Ivan Gunatillek explores why the amount of data generated by retailers in their operations and interactions with consumers is becoming an issue that is too big to ignore

Improving digital measurement strategies

What if everything we thought we knew about digital measurement was wrong? Web analytics consultant Gary Angel explains how the failings in digital measurement have come to be and how to bypass them to make every retailer’s measurement better

Good customer service can save bricks and mortar

In the face of dwindling disposable income and increased competition from online shopping, UK retail IT expert Ed Brindley argues that only by improving customer service can retailers ensure their physical store networks can not only survive, but also prosper and thrive