The Rise of Omnichannel Retailing

Omnichannel retailing, where customers can interact with a brand across multiple channels seamlessly, has become a cornerstone of the retail convergence trend. The concept is simple: allow customers to shop anytime, anywhere, and in any way they prefer—whether that’s in a physical store, on a mobile app, or through a voice-activated device like Amazon Alexa.

Antonio Figueiredo, a retail industry expert, summarized the trend in a recent interview: “While incumbents have upped their digital game, tech-first players are learning old-school retail. The future of retail lies in a harmonious blend of both worlds.”

This blend is evident in the way retailers are integrating technology into the in-store experience. For example, Timberland’s use of NFC (Near Field Communication) technology in their stores allows customers to use handheld tablets to access detailed product information simply by scanning a code on product signage. This not only enhances the shopping experience but also reduces the need for customers to seek out store employees for assistance.

The importance of this seamless integration cannot be overstated. As noted by Growth Hackers in a recent report, “Successful retailers will now more than ever utilize all customer and prospect touchpoints to market their brand, but also reach customers with relevant and consistent messaging across all platforms. That also includes transitioning their online experience into the store.”

Phygital Experiences: Blending Physical and Digital Worlds

One of the most significant developments in retail convergence is the rise of “phygital” experiences—where physical and digital interactions merge to create a new kind of shopping experience. This trend is particularly visible in how retailers are leveraging augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to enhance in-store shopping.

For instance, AR apps allow customers to visualize how furniture might look in their homes before making a purchase, or try on clothes virtually. This not only enriches the customer experience but also bridges the gap between online and offline shopping.

E-SPIN Group, a leader in retail tech solutions, highlighted this trend in a recent blog post: “Enhance Retail with Phygital Convergence: A Shopper’s Paradise. Retail spaces are leveraging Phygital Convergence to create a shopper’s paradise, where digital tools and physical spaces come together to offer a unique, interactive experience.”

Retailers who embrace this convergence are not just offering a service—they’re providing an experience. And in a world where customer experience is becoming the key differentiator, this could be the deciding factor between success and failure.

The Evolution of Payment Systems: Frictionless Transactions

Another critical aspect of retail convergence is the evolution of payment systems. The traditional checkout process is being replaced by frictionless payment options, which are designed to reduce or eliminate the pain points associated with in-store purchases.

In the UK, fashion retailer Oasis has implemented a system where in-store sales staff use iPads to assist customers. This system allows them to check product availability, complete transactions on the spot, and even arrange for out-of-stock items to be delivered directly to the customer’s home. This not only speeds up the purchasing process but also enhances the overall customer experience.

Elon Musk, a vocal advocate for innovation in customer experience, recently tweeted, “The future of retail is all about removing friction. If customers can pay and go without standing in line, why wouldn’t they choose that over waiting?”

This trend is not just about convenience—it’s about respecting the customer’s time. As highlighted by Fujitsu in their analysis of retail trends, “Frictionless payment isn’t just a tech upgrade; it’s a way to build consumer confidence and loyalty by making the shopping experience as smooth and seamless as possible.”

The Impact of Social Commerce

Social commerce, where social media platforms become a direct sales channel, is another key element of retail convergence. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok have already begun to offer in-app shopping experiences, allowing users to purchase products directly from their feeds.

Fynd Commerce Platform emphasized the significance of this trend at a recent retail innovation event in Dubai: “Navigating online-offline convergence and delivering customer delight is the future of retail. Social commerce plays a critical role in this by turning social interactions into shopping opportunities.”

The future of retail media and CTV represents a pivotal intersection that businesses cannot afford to overlook. Annie Vines weighs in on the unique opportunity this convergence presents for brands.

Check out the full interview with @Beet_TV here: https://t.co/NuR3YfJ3uN pic.twitter.com/oN8uh3yQS8

— TripleLift (@TripleLiftHQ) August 5, 2024

Social media platforms are not just marketing tools—they’re becoming integral parts of the retail ecosystem. By integrating shopping features directly into these platforms, retailers can reach consumers where they already spend much of their time, thereby reducing the friction between discovery and purchase.

As retail convergence continues to evolve, the role of social commerce will likely expand, offering new ways for consumers to engage with brands and make purchases seamlessly.

Data-Driven Personalization: The New Standard

One of the most powerful tools in the retail convergence toolkit is data. Retailers now have access to more consumer data than ever before, and they are using this data to create highly personalized shopping experiences.

As Sara Lebow discussed in the Reimagining Retail podcast, “Retail’s convergence with digital media ecosystems allows for unprecedented levels of personalization. Retailers can now tailor the shopping experience to individual customers based on their behavior, preferences, and even their location.”

This level of personalization is becoming the new standard in retail. Retailers who fail to leverage data to enhance the customer experience risk falling behind their competitors.

Data-driven personalization is not just about targeted ads or product recommendations—it’s about creating a seamless, integrated shopping experience that feels intuitive and responsive to the customer’s needs. This can include everything from personalized marketing messages to customized in-store experiences.

The Future of Retail: Convergence as a Continuous Evolution

As we look ahead to 2024, it’s clear that retail convergence is not a one-time shift but a continuous evolution. Retailers must remain agile and adaptable, constantly integrating new technologies and strategies to meet the changing needs and expectations of consumers.

Elon Musk, who has always been at the forefront of innovation, summed up the future of retail convergence in a recent interview: “Retail is becoming a fluid, interconnected ecosystem. The barriers between online and offline are disappearing, and the companies that thrive will be those that can offer a seamless, personalized experience across all touchpoints.”

PODCAST: What will be the role of augmented reality in retailing? What is the potential for the convergence of hospitality and retailing? What about the potential for repurposing office buildings to alternative retail uses?#raapodcastshttps://t.co/shCz43sWIg

— RealAssetsAdviser (@RealAssetsAdv) July 30, 2024

The convergence of retail, technology, and consumer expectations is driving the industry toward a future where the shopping experience is more integrated, personalized, and convenient than ever before. Retailers who embrace this trend will not only meet the needs of today’s consumers but also set the standard for the future of shopping.

Retail convergence in 2024 is about more than just merging online and offline channels—it’s about creating a cohesive, seamless shopping experience that meets consumers wherever they are. From omnichannel marketing and phygital experiences to frictionless payments and data-driven personalization, the future of retail is all about convergence. Retailers who embrace these trends will be well-positioned to thrive in the years ahead, while those who resist may find themselves left behind.

Farfetch plans to use their IPO windfall to dramatically improve their technology which they see as the best way to improve the consumer experience.

Farfetch Founder and CEO José Manuel Ferreira Neves recently discussed Farfetch and the online luxury brand industry on Bloomberg:

Online Luxury is Growing 25 Percent a Year

It’s a very unique opportunity. You have this amazing global industry. It’s $300 billion, the personal luxury goods industry and only 9 percent is online. There are two opportunities here really. One is the growth of online luxury which is going to grow to 25 percent a year for the next seven years. This is a $100 billion opportunity shift in online luxury.

The big question is how is technology going to help brands and retailers really improve the consumer experience in the physical store. This is something at Farfetch that we are very passionate about.

China is an Incredible Opportunity for Online Luxury

China is a very exciting opportunity. Chinese citizens are at the onset of the luxury industry, whether they shop at home or when they’re shopping abroad. Online penetration is very low in China so this means that there is an incredible growth runway for Farfetch in the territory.

That led to our partnership with JD.com where we have our own team. We have the Farfetch China app and website, we have local customer service, local payment systems, and local marketing. It’s a truly localized service. That is what’s driving incredible growth to the Farfetch brand in that region.

José Neves, founder and CEO of @farfetch, told us about the company’s grand ambitions for China at the WWD’s Men’s Wear Summit this week. https://t.co/MrMj7y5VCG

— Jing Daily | 精日传媒 (@JingDaily) March 29, 2018

WeChat is an amazing app with over 900 million users. It is the Instagram, plus WeChat, plus PayPal, etc. of China in one app. That is very powerful and very interesting. Now with our acquisition CuriosityChina we are powering the retail presence of 80 luxury brands. We think that is very interesting for the industry and we think that is probably something that we will see for the western world.

How Farfetch plans to capture the growth in online luxury e-commerce https://t.co/t9HI0igMFV pic.twitter.com/RjvAel79li

— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) September 21, 2018

Brands Now Using Social and Digital Marketing Extensively

I think brands move cautiously and they choose their marketing channels very carefully. As these newer channels have developed the brands have adapted to them and their now using social media and digital media extensively to create desire, to drive discovery of new products obviously transactions as well.

It’s a gradual pace but it’s really exciting that were at that inflection point where the brands see this as a tremendous opportunity.

Burt Flickinger, Managing Director of SRG, a consumer industry business consulting firm, discussed how Walmart is winning the retail wars in an interview on Fox Business:

Walmart is the Roman Empire of Retail

This earnings report just reinforces its winning. Amazon is going sideways. This is a reenactment of the Punic Wars, Rome versus Carthage. Walmart is the Roman empire of retail. Like Hannibal and the Carthaginians, Amazon is starting to go the wrong way. Big win for Walmart today and they will accelerate that in the next two to seven years.

What’s doubly impressive, we talk to a lot of vendors and shoppers around the world, what the vendors are saying is Walmart is reinvesting all the PPA (price and promotional allowances) in lower prices. Lower prices normally mean lower margins and lower revenue. But in this case, the shopper is shifting to Walmart.

Walmart strategically saw all the land-based businesses like Payless and all the retailers from toys to sporting goods going out of business. They had great sales on land and not so good online. Walmart is winning both ways. Amazon, with all the trouble they’re having with Whole Foods, can’t capitalize. Walmart is running the table.

This Says it All for US Retail

This says it all for US retail. The well capitalized highly capable retailers are winning and if it’s a one man show, like Bezos running the show, you could be Alexander the Great, you could be Hannibal out of Carthage, but one general isn’t going to win a war. Recent (lower) retail sales numbers were a combination of a couple things. One is Jerome Powell scared the market, especially high to mid-end, didn’t spend as much. Also, consumers were a little bit scared toward the end of the year. Walmart, off price, low price, did very well, but full price full service struggled and that’s why the numbers were bad.

Walmart comp sales increased 4.2 percent, just like Steve Jobs and Apple with their great campaign Think Different with Muhammad Ali, Walmart is thinking different with Doug McMillon. It’s evolved from a company of family management to professional management. Walmart had 40 percent growth online.

Walmart Ads Are Really Connecting

Before, Walmart looked at advertising as an expense. But as Jerry Della Femina said, most of the Super Bowl ads were pretty pathetic. Walmart was one that stood out because it advertised Walmart online and Walmart in-store. The Walmart ads are really connecting with consumers, a United Nations of consumers.

They’re reaching everybody around the world with better prices and better service. Doug McMillon has invested in inventory and has invested in store staffing, first to raise wages with some push from the UFCW. They are hitting on all cylinders. The biggest problem now is they can’t handle all of the volume they are seeing on the weekends.

Amazon Go is the company’s cashier-less grocery stores, using cameras and sensors to determine what items shoppers have chosen and charge them when they leave. The idea is to allow shoppers to “Just Walk Out,” saving the time and headache of waiting in line.

According to GeekWire, Amazon is closing eight of its Go locations permanently, including two in Seattle, right in the company’s backyard. The other six include two in New York City and six in San Francisco.

“Like any physical retailer, we periodically assess our portfolio of stores and make optimization decisions along the way,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement to the outlet.

“We remain committed to the Amazon Go format, operate more than 20 Amazon Go stores across the U.S., and will continue to learn which locations and features resonate most with customers as we keep evolving our Amazon Go stores,” the spokesperson added.

It’s hard to imagine markets more perfectly suited to a Go store than San Francisco, Seattle, or New York City. Nonetheless, at least in the case of the Seattle stores, GeekWire indicated crime and open-air drug use near the store were likely major factors in the decision.

In the meantime, Amazon continues to move ahead in the grocery store market, not only with its Go stores, but with plans to “go big” with its over-arching ambitions.

Amazon already has some physical grocery stores, but the company is a relatively small player in the market. In an interview with The Financial Times, via Engadget, CEO Andy Jassy made clear his intention to change the status quo.

“We’re just still in the early stages,” Jassy told FT. “We’re hopeful that in 2023, we have a format that we want to go big on, on the physical side. We have a history of doing a lot of experimentation and doing it quickly. And then, when we find something that we like, doubling down on it, which is what we intend to do.”

There’s no doubt that Amazon has the ingredients to make a success of physical grocery stores. There are few companies that can match it in product availability and logistics, not to mention the buying power the company would have to negotiate low prices.

If Amazon is able to deliver on Jassy’s statement, it would also open up another arena of competition between the company and Walmart.

Brand growth expert Austin Brawner of Ecommerce Influence interviewed Justuno CEO Erik Christiansen about conversion optimization:

Retailers Should Focus On The Last Mile

Conversion optimization is the same as it’s been for a while. People still don’t want to focus on the last mile. Finally, in 2020, we saw that shift when advertising got so expensive. Everyone is like, okay, we have minimal budgets, how do we stretch them? Finally, with all the competition from COVID where everyone’s shifting online everyone, they are saying that we can’t keep just throwing money at this. We’ve got to come up with the real problem.

When we first launched we had to pivot immediately because when we mentioned the word coupon or the word pop-up people just ran the other way. It’s been ten years of education and we’ve kept to the same message of investing in your current website visitors. Our main job still is to educate the online retailer about the basics. We ask most businesses, as you know with email, are you doing a 30, 60, 90 day, the basics? Are you doing a cart abandonment email? You cover the basics and you get so much further ahead.

There’s always low-hanging fruit

Everyone thinks businesses are run perfectly but most businesses are just a mess. What I’ve been trying to do is challenge my team to look at the basics. There’s always low-hanging fruit to improve your business. When it comes to retail, where’s the low-hanging fruit? Let’s break out your business to the basics like new visitors versus repeat. With the new ones, how many are there? What percentage of emails are we capturing? Are we sending those emails to your ESP? Are we putting in the basic workflows? There’s so much low-hanging fruit.

Then, you’re sending these emails, are you reinforcing those campaigns on-site? You spend so much time designing the email, sending it. Then it comes to that shopping cart abandonment. Do you even know how many people come to your cart each day? Do you know how many carts get abandoned and the dollar value? What can we do? The basics are still very much there in terms of opportunity to help people increase their sales lead capture and sales. How do you take one marketing dollar and stretch it as far as you possibly can? How do you also get creative? It’s all about creativity. That’s what marketing is and that’s what retail is. Retail is retailing and getting your hands dirty.

Burt Flickinger, Managing Director of SRG, a consumer industry business consulting firm, discussed how Walmart is winning the retail wars in an interview on Fox Business:

Walmart is the Roman Empire of Retail

This earnings report just reinforces its winning. Amazon is going sideways. This is a reenactment of the Punic Wars, Rome versus Carthage. Walmart is the Roman empire of retail. Like Hannibal and the Carthaginians, Amazon is starting to go the wrong way. Big win for Walmart today and they will accelerate that in the next two to seven years.

What’s doubly impressive, we talk to a lot of vendors and shoppers around the world, what the vendors are saying is Walmart is reinvesting all the PPA (price and promotional allowances) in lower prices. Lower prices normally mean lower margins and lower revenue. But in this case, the shopper is shifting to Walmart.

Walmart strategically saw all the land-based businesses like Payless and all the retailers from toys to sporting goods going out of business. They had great sales on land and not so good online. Walmart is winning both ways. Amazon, with all the trouble they’re having with Whole Foods, can’t capitalize. Walmart is running the table.

This Says it All for US Retail

This says it all for US retail. The well capitalized highly capable retailers are winning and if it’s a one man show, like Bezos running the show, you could be Alexander the Great, you could be Hannibal out of Carthage, but one general isn’t going to win a war. Recent (lower) retail sales numbers were a combination of a couple things. One is Jerome Powell scared the market, especially high to mid-end, didn’t spend as much. Also, consumers were a little bit scared toward the end of the year. Walmart, off price, low price, did very well, but full price full service struggled and that’s why the numbers were bad.

Walmart comp sales increased 4.2 percent, just like Steve Jobs and Apple with their great campaign Think Different with Muhammad Ali, Walmart is thinking different with Doug McMillon. It’s evolved from a company of family management to professional management. Walmart had 40 percent growth online.

Walmart Ads Are Really Connecting

Before, Walmart looked at advertising as an expense. But as Jerry Della Femina said, most of the Super Bowl ads were pretty pathetic. Walmart was one that stood out because it advertised Walmart online and Walmart in-store. The Walmart ads are really connecting with consumers, a United Nations of consumers.

They’re reaching everybody around the world with better prices and better service. Doug McMillon has invested in inventory and has invested in store staffing, first to raise wages with some push from the UFCW. They are hitting on all cylinders. The biggest problem now is they can’t handle all of the volume they are seeing on the weekends.

Matthew Shay, President and CEO of the National Retail Federation, says that the pandemic has made this a great time for innovation by retailers:

This Is A Great Time For Innovation.

Just look back a decade ago and the companies that were created in the midst of the great recession in 2008, 2009, and 2010. We saw a lot of new IPOs. This is a great time for innovation. Some of the predictions this year, for example, about the number of stores that would close or bankruptcies that we would see just haven’t materialized. Part of that is because consumers have been relatively healthy and part of that is because on a net basis we’ve seen new businesses opening to offset the closing. There’s an enormous amount of innovation taking place.

On the issue of returns, there’s a big company located right here in Washington, D.C., Optoro, a big partner for many retailers helping them process returns efficiently. I’ve talked to senior executives at UPS today about shipping issues and there is a lot of innovation taking place. They are working very diligently and have a great delivery record so far. We are looking forward to getting all those gifts to American families. The biggest gift of all, of course, will be some additional pandemic relief.

A Lot Of This Is Going To Be A Permanent Change

The issue is how much of this consumer behavior has changed permanently and fundamentally? How much of us as Americans go back to our old behaviors? That’s going to play itself out. Certainly, a lot of this is going to be a permanent change. People will do more as we saw across all demographic groups, regardless of age, this entire year doing much more online. Some of that will remain sticky.

There’s been a great increase in efficiency in the supply chain. Those gains are not going to be given back. Customers are going to continue to expect certain kinds of delivery and fulfillment opportunities that have been rolled out by retailers this year. They won’t give that up. They are going to want the convenience and they are going to expect to be able to maintain that in the future.

With those kinds of innovations and that kind of resilience in the system against the backdrop of a year next year that could be extremely bullish if we get the vaccine rolled out, as we all believe it will be. I talked to a senior executive of one of the major pharmaceutical companies last week and they said early April or the end of May everyone that wants it will get it. We could be set up for a really big comeback for consumers next year.

Inflation is an increase in the price of goods or services due to weakening currency caused by different economic triggers. These triggers can be things like surge in product demand, production cost increases, supply chain breakdowns, or changes in the housing market. There have been two major theories that have been presented regarding why inflation occurs. The first is the cost-push theory which explains that higher costs of services or production of goods raise overall prices. The second is demand-pull theory which suggests that when demand for goods outpaces the availability of them, it raises the prices. 

Both of these theories work to explain why it is rising so high in these times of the pandemic. With mass stay-at-home orders being enforced early in 2020, many production jobs were lost which lessened the availability of products and resulted in rising prices. New safety and sanitary procedures added more fees for businesses to pay which raised the cost for production of goods. This explains why rates are rising, and in fact America is experiencing the biggest jump in more than 30 years.

The History of Inflation

This is not the first time this country has experienced a large jump in inflation. After the Revolutionary War, America experienced the biggest jump in it’s entire history with inflation rates at nearly 30%. In the 1970’s the Great Stagflation saw inflation rise to over 14%. So while the rise of 7% we are experiencing today may seem daunting, we have experienced worse economic strife in the past. 

Something we may have to prepare for is the possibility of a recession. The United States has experienced more than 19 recessions in the past 100 years, notably The Great Recession which occurred in 2008 due to policies trying to reduce inflation. The U.S has been known to enact strategies to control inflation, but as seen with The Great Recession, these strategies can have unintended consequences. 

Inflation Trends

So what can we expect from these ongoing inflation trends? Well on a positive note, we can expect lower unemployment rates and higher wages. In 2021 unemployment dropped to 4% and the average hourly wage rose 5%. Unfortunately, we can also expect lower savings rates, increased interest rates, and overall higher costs of living. As we’ve seen in the past, inflation is inevitable, so what can you do to prepare? 

Investing your money into rental properties and commodities like industrial metals have a great ROI percentage and may be a good way to prepare for rising cost of living. Consider continuing your education, as 30 million Americans could be earning 70% more with a college degree. There are many other ways to prepare for the effects of inflation, learn more in the infographic below: 

According to Inc. search abandonment — where a user searches for a product but doesn’t click through to the results — costs the e-commerce industry a whopping $300 billion a year. Google is working to address that with its new tool, which has been in private preview, but is now available to all.

“Search abandonment is a costly industry-wide issue, but for startup founders and small business owners, it can be devastating,” Carrie Tharp, Google Cloud’s vice president of retail and consumer, told Inc. “With Retail Search, we’re able to help convert site traffic to sales and keep startups and small businesses from leaving money on the table.”

The tool brings the power of Google Search to a company’s own sites.

Retailers now have the ability to provide Google-quality search and recommendations on their own digital properties, helping to increase conversions and reduce search abandonment. 

Cloud Retail Search should help Google as it continues to fight for cloud market share against its larger rivals, AWS and Microsoft Azure.

Buy now, pay later is becoming an increasingly popular option, even in e-commerce. Square recently inked a deal to purchase Afterpay Limited in an effort to offer buy now, pay later.

Amazon is now getting in on the action, partnering with Affirm to offers its customers the convenience.

As a result of Amazon and Affirm’s partnership, select Amazon customers now have the option to split the total cost of purchases of $50 or more into simple monthly payments by using Affirm. Approved customers are shown the total cost of their purchase upfront and will never pay more than what they agree to at checkout. As always, when choosing Affirm, consumers will not be charged any late or hidden fees. 

The two companies are testing the service with select customers, but intend on bringing it to Amazon’s wider customer base as soon as possible.

“By partnering with Amazon we’re bringing the transparency, predictability and affordability that Affirm provides today to the millions of people who shop on Amazon.com in the U.S.,” said Eric Morse, Senior Vice President of Sales at Affirm. “Offering Affirm’s alternative to credit cards also delivers more of the payment choice and flexibility consumers on Amazon want.”

Walmart already has a delivery service for its own customers, but the company sees an opportunity to help other companies do the same. The company has launched Walmart GoLocal to address the delivery needs of a variety of companies.

“In an era where customers have come to expect speed and reliability, it’s more important than ever for businesses to work with a service provider that understands a merchant’s needs,” said John Furner, president and CEO, Walmart U.S. “Walmart has spent years building and scaling commerce capabilities that support our network of more than 4,700 stores and we look forward to helping other businesses have access to the same reliable, quality and low-cost services.”

“We’ve worked hard to develop a reliable last mile delivery program for our customers,” said Tom Ward, senior vice president, last mile, Walmart U.S. “Now, we’re pleased to be able to use these capabilities to serve another set of customers, local merchants. Be it delivering goods from a local bakery to auto supplies from a national retailer, we’ve designed Walmart GoLocal to be customizable for merchants of all sizes and categories so they can focus on doing what they do best, leaving delivery speed and efficiency to us.”

Walmart is often accused of killing off small businesses, but this latest service will certainly help.

Department stores were once a staple of American life and the go-to place to shop for everything from clothes to household items. In recent years, however, e-commerce has taken a toll on the industry, with many going into bankruptcy or making major changes to how they do business.

Now Amazon, arguably one of the biggest factors in the demise of the industry, is now preparing to open its own department-style retail stores in California and Ohio, according to The Wall Street Journal.Amazon already has some retail locations, such as bookstores and the Whole Foods chain it purchased 2017. The company also has its 4-star stores, although those primarily sell gadgets.

According to WSJ, Amazon’s new retail stores will be roughly 30,000 square feet, quite a bit smaller than a traditional department store, which usually comes in around 100,000. Even so, the new stores will be much larger than the company’s other retail efforts and will offer the full range of products from top brands, much like a traditional department store.

While nothing is a sure bet, Amazon’s chances of success are pretty good. Having its own stores would give users the ability to try on clothes before buying them, eliminating one of the more frustrating aspects of online shopping.

Microsoft Azure has been gaining ground in the cloud market, with a recent report showing it one of the biggest winners during the current digital transformation. Microsoft Azure is increasingly seen as a viable alternative to AWS, especially among retailers who are leery of relying on a cloud offering from their biggest rival.

Microsoft is capitalizing on this by offering a vertical cloud solution tailored to the specific needs of the retail market.

The unmatched performance of Microsoft Azure allows our customers to intelligently manage secure workloads across multiple sites and domains, scale those workloads to process millions of requests per second, and improve the logistics to manage each order. Azure Data and AI services help retailers respond to market forces, improve decision-making, and put customers first by breaking down their data silos to manage, merge, shape, and analyze the data and, as a result, uncover actionable insights.

With Azure, retailers get the best of at-scale cloud, data, and AI workloads including industry data models that enable data management, governance, and domain excellence in one cloud platform from a provider that does not compete with them. As a result, retailers can build better digital feedback loops—the connections between their customers, their people, their stores, their data, and the insights at the heart of each—on a platform from a trusted partner.

Microsoft’s announcement does not include pricing. The company is confident, however, that its latest vertical cloud will help the retail industry deal with the challenges and opportunities it is currently facing.

Recent months have seen the fastest-growing inflation rates in a decade, with prices soaring for common items and goods. Many families and businesses have been struggling to keep up with rising prices, with many wondering if/when prices will level out.

Former Federal Reserve Governor Randall Kroszner has weighed in, saying he believes the current inflation is largely the result of a perfect storm of circumstances, including pent-up demand, large savings people had built up, stimulus-fueled spending and supply bottlenecks, such as the semiconductor shortage.

Kroszner does not, however, believe the increased prices will be a sustained trend.

“We’re going to see a lot of price increases in the short-run,” Kroszner said in an interview with Bloomberg. ”The key question is: Are those transitory or are those sustained? I think we’re going to see them transitory for a while. I don’t think they’re necessarily going to be sustained over the year-to-two-year horizon. But over a six-month horizon? I think certainly.”

Amazon is famously opposed to its employees unionizing. The company has gone to extreme measures, even hiring Pinkerton detectives to monitor efforts. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) accused Amazon of threatening, suspending and terminating employees for trying to organize.

It appears Amazon’s efforts have not been successful, however, as employees at the company’s warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama are moving forward with plans to vote on unionization. The NLRB has scheduled the vote for February 8 through March 29, and will involve approximately 6,000 employees.

It remains to be seen if the vote will pass. If it does, however, it would be a big step forward for unionization efforts within one of the biggest companies in the US.

Staples had previously tried to purchase its rival in 2015. At the time, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) blocked the merger, saying the combined company would control too much of the market.

According to CNN Business the company is determined to do whatever it takes to gain regulatory approval this time around. It has signaled it’s even willing to sell CompuCom, its IT management company, or sell its business-to-business unit.

Staples is offering $2.1 billion, or $40 per share. This represents roughly a 60% premium over Office Depot’s current stock price, as of the time of writing. The translocation would be an all-cash deal, according to Staples.

Consumer purchasing has underwent major transformation as a result of the pandemic. Record numbers of individuals turned to online shopping to avoid crowds and practice social distancing.

Amazon was one of the biggest beneficiaries of this transformation, as customers turned in droves to the online giant. The company delivered some 1.5 billion electronics, toys, home products, beauty and personal care products during the holidays.

In addition, third-party sellers saw a 50% growth in sales, compared to 2019. Small and medium-sized businesses sold almost 1 billion products via Amazon.

The company’s growth also resulted in hundreds of thousands of new jobs, with the company adding some 400,000 full and part-time jobs in 2020. The company also spent over “$2.5 billion in bonus pay to front-line workers,” as well as donated millions of items during the holiday season.

“Amazonians around the world have truly shown what it means to be customer-centric and support our communities this year,” said Jeff Wilke, CEO Worldwide Consumer at Amazon. “When our customers—including healthcare workers on the front lines—most needed essential supplies, our teams and partners went above and beyond to stock and deliver those items. When it became clear that COVID-19 testing was going to be important, Amazonians across the company moved quickly to build our own testing capacity so we could help protect employees and deliver products to customers. And when customers needed a little extra holiday cheer, millions of employees and partners worked together to deliver more savings and holiday gifts than ever before. We couldn’t be prouder of, or more thankful for, our teams around the world.”

Given the success of online shopping this year, and especially this holiday season, it’s a safe bet shopping is forever changed.

Rodney McMullen, CEO of Kroger, says that customers who engage digitally come in more often and spend twice as much on average as non-digital customers:

Seamless Experience of Digital, Fresh, and Friendly

Every day our associates are taking care of our customers. We’re continuing to make progress on the things that matter on a seamless experience… digital, fresh, and friendly. When you look at the things behind the numbers continuing strong trends. If you look at the things that we’re doing it sets us up well for the fourth quarter and sets us to continue to gain share in 2021 as well.

One of the things that our customers are telling us is they’ve learned how to cook, they enjoy cooking, and they enjoy the time together as a family. Also, I think the economy continually will continue to be a little bit soft which will cause people to eat at home more as well. Both of those things will continue to provide support (for increased sales).

Customers That Engage Digitally Spend Twice As Much

Obviously, we’re anxious for the vaccine to get here and to get widespread use of it just like everyone else is. We were making great progress in gaining share even before COVID 19 started and we expect once things get back to normal we’ll be able to continue to gain share as well. We can’t wait until a vaccine gets out there and it gets widespread usage.

I really believe our teams will continue to take care of our customers and the seamless experience will tie it all together. What we find are customers that engage with us from a digital standpoint also continue to enjoy coming into the store. They also spend about twice as much with us. When you look at those things together I really feel optimistic about the future.

Amazon Prime is one of the biggest advantages Amazon has, providing free two-day shipping on many products. Many of its competitors have struggled to match its ability to get products in customers’ hands so quickly.

Walmart is preparing to just do that, however, with plans to use its stores to speed up delivery for online shoppers. The company’s decision comes amid one of the most unique holiday seasons, as many shoppers turn to online shopping as a result of COVID-19.

The overall experience should be relatively seamless for most customers, while shipping times may be reduced to as little as same day.

“While our customers won’t see a change in the app or a new service they need to select, they will notice that they aren’t finding themselves checking for shipping updates or sweating arrival times of gifts,” writes Tom Ward, Senior Vice President, Customer Product. “They simply notice their orders are arriving super-fast, even the same day, and maybe in a Walmart bag from a store rather than a Walmart box from Walmart.com.”