Articles by Erin Harris

  1. Shoptalk 2016: Believe The Hype 6/2/2016

    In the weeks leading up to Shoptalk, “the nextgen commerce event” held in Vegas last month, it seemed as though not a day went by without receiving an electronic update announcing the newest big-name company to join the impressive and ever-growing speaker lineup. Like many people who attended Shoptalk’s inaugural event, I had high expectations for the show based on, well, hype. After all, Shoptalk’s creators are the minds behind the Money 20/20 juggernaut, so I was excited to see for myself the show that promised to deliver what nextgen commerce actually means for the retail industry and the customer experience.

  2. Miya Knights On The Digitally Enabled Shopping Journey 4/27/2016

    Every year, Innovative Retail Technologies publishes our Mobility Special Report, which takes a deep dive into the state of mobility in retail. In 2015, we partnered with Miya Knights, global research technology director at Planet Retail for our Mobility Special Report, in which she penned compelling content explaining why retailers must put the shopping journey and its delivery via mobile at the forefront of customer-facing strategic initiatives.

  3. The Dandy Lab Brings IoT, Innovation In-Store 4/19/2016

    By marrying traditional retail and interactive, innovative technologies, The Dandy Lab delivers a useful, memorable customer experience that’s redefining the industry.

  4. An Ongoing Workforce Issue: Making Millennials Stay 4/19/2016

    You’ve read time and again that Millennials want to be aligned with companies that value and promote work/life balance as well as maintain an ethical social conscience and an unwavering commitment to philanthropy. Yet Millennials have a reputation for being flight risks when it comes to their jobs. So, beyond a flexible schedule and an altruistic work environment, what else is there? What are some other things retailers can do to make ‘em stay?

  5. The Key To Customer Engagement Success 3/30/2016

    There’s no question that in retail, turnover’s high and employee training takes time, money, and effort, but it behooves retailers to invest in their most valuable asset — the associate.

  6. Location-Based Marketing Tech Spending On The Rise 3/17/2016

    Location-based technologies continue to help retailers build brand advocates and deliver contextually relevant messaging to customers. Indeed, The Location Based Marketing Association (The LBMA) just released its Global Location Trends Report, which is based on the findings from an online study conducted in the United States, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Singapore. Owners/co-owners, CEO/Presidents, CMOs, and Marketing Managers participated in the online survey to share their current usage and investments in location-based marketing as well as future goals on implementing this technology. 

  7. Prioritizing Order Management 2/18/2016

    According to a report by Boston Retail Partners (BRP), in the next 3 years, 250 percent more retailers are transitioning to a single order management solution (OMS) to support a unified commerce experience across all channels.  BRB explains in its report that integral to unified commerce is a unified commerce platform — a single centralized commerce platform for all channels, combining traditional POS, mobile, Web, clienteling, order management and fulfillment into a consolidated, real-time platform.

  8. Associates & Analytics: A Customer Experience Win-Win 2/17/2016

    Big Data was a big topic at the 2016 NRF BIG Show, but to no surprise, the topic that seemingly screamed from Javits’ rooftop was analytics. Practically every technology vendor we met with touted its expertise in delivering mission-critical analytics at breakneck speeds to help retailers better run their businesses. That’s good news for retailers, as acting on the key findings from swarms of data is just one of the ways retailers are differentiating themselves from the competition; they do so by predicting trends and preparing for future demand.

  9. Wrigleyville Sports Hits Inventory Visibility Home Run 2/17/2016

    By shifting its core business operations to a cloud-based single unified platform, this specialty retailer achieved inventory visibility, expanded its fulfillment offerings, and improved the customer experience.

  10. It's Time To RISE: A Recap Of One Of Retail's Newest And Best Events 1/26/2016

    The 2016 NRF BIG Show may be in the rear-view mirror, but the countless data attendees gathered before, during, and after the show will help retailers improve their businesses in 2016 and beyond. I had the pleasure of attending a few pre-NRF events, including RISE (Retailer Innovation & Shopper Expertise Symposium) held The Gansevoort Park Avenue. RISE’s tagline, “to unite the most experienced, accomplished, and respected leaders in the industry … and to celebrate the future of retail, diversity, and innovation,” exceeded expectations.