Market Analysis

Attribution key to increased conversions and order values

Search and online display marketing are required channels for retail brands. But the disciplines have evolved radically and are increasingly integrated and measured via digital marketing suites serving real time, behaviour-led campaigns, according to Ollie Bath

Olympic NFC: mobile attackers to go for gold?

Mobile security expert Jimmy Shah debates whether Visa’s NFC payment test this month will highlight the risks or rewards surrounding the technology

Should retailers believe the mobile hype?

A recent report on mobile shopping behaviour found significant differences in the way Britons shop across platforms, according to e-commerce expert Darren Hitchcock

Mobilising consumer payments

Retailers need to make it easier for their customers to buy from them regardless of the platform, according to mobile payments expert John Milliken. Currently, consumers are finding most social media sites, adverts and mobile apps to be non-transactional

Facing up to retail security challenges

Facial recognition technology has undergone major developments in recent years and, as a result according to security expert Atul Rajput, is increasingly being used for identification and verification in traditional security applications. He says now retailers are too beginning to realise the benefits of this technology beyond for just loss prevention and surveillance

The adoption and economics of 'omnichannel' retailing

Multichannel retail expert Andy Tudor comments on the move in retail from ‘multichannel’ to ‘omnichannel’. He examines what this might mean for the industry and what kind of take-up the industry can expect for this new distribution model

Sales forecasting: the elephant in the room?

Retail inventory optimisation expert Matthias Steinberg argues that forecasting technology has to date failed to adequately deal with slow-moving products even though they constitutes a large part of a retailer’s portfolio

Breaking down the PayPal instore payments offerings

Retail software analyst Michael Koploy discusses recent moves by the e-commerce payment processing giant PayPal to embrace the opportunities on offer in retail stores through mobile payments

NFC: To wait or to create?

Today, with over three billion mobile phone owners worldwide – more than double the number of credit card owners – mobile payments seems to be the next logical step. Revenue and business assurance management expert, Maria José Gonçalves explores the big questions surrounding near field communications (NFC) technologies

What’s in store for retailers’ wireless coverage?

Communications infrastructure expert Morgan Kurk discusses why retailers need to address the wireless problems of tomorrow, today

Making the instore experience smarter, slicker and more engaging

Retailers know that transforming the physical store is key to capturing consumer hearts and wallets. But when it comes to creating an engaging instore experience, customer flow management (CFM) can deliver capabilities that go far beyond tackling the priority of minimising queuing wait times. David Anahory explores how retailers are using CFM to create true brand differentiation, boost operational efficiencies and generate additional sales opportunities

One bad apple

Electronic trading expert Steve Rees argues that retail supply chains need more insight and intelligence

Retail pricing under spotlight

Pricing intelligence expert Vol Pigrukh highlights the need for retailers to monitor pricing across all channels more effectively in 2012

A recipe for mobile success

As mobile commerce grows in popularity, mobile advertising expert Dr KF Lai shares his knowledge and findings to help retailers succeed with m-commerce

Boosting website conversion

Kevin Sparks, multichannel retail software expert, shares his five ‘top tips’ for increasing conversion rates and sales online   Shopping online has become part of our everyday lives. But as online use increases, Kevin Sparks, senior account manager at multichannel product search technology provider PrismaStar, said consumer expectations increase even faster – as does the amount of competition fighting for that consumer business.  

George’s marvellous medicine: Increase trade in foreign markets

During this year’s Budget, George Osborne was keen to emphasise that UK companies need to export more to the world’s growth economies. But age and identity verification specialist, Conor Murphy points out that there are a number of challenges that retailers in particular must surmount

Taxman targeting eBay sellers

The UK tax authority, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), is using new technology to target eBay and other e-marketplaces as part of a crackdown on businesses with missing tax returns   The biggest online marketplace, eBay, provides retailers with a number of online tools to help sell and ship items to their customers. However, there is no support for tax and VAT reports.  

Developing a hybrid cloud model

Retail technology strategist Andy Taylor explains why no one cloud computing model will ever offer the perfect balance of security and cost for all of a retailer’s data – but how a hybrid model will

Reducing basket abandonment

Today’s internet consumers have got wise to finding the best deals. With less money to spend, they have become more search savvy to find what they want at a price they are happy to pay. But marketing expert Chris Gabriel says there is a lot retailers can do to improve online conversion rates

Turning compliance into business advantage

E-commerce billing expert Gene Hoffman discusses how new EU data protection directive will fuel success for digital retailers