With millions of Americans still out of work and job openings at a record high, retailers need solutions for what could be a long-term problem. To deal with the crippling labor crunch, business owners have to examine and embrace new strategies and new technologies that position them as an employer of choice and reduce their […]
technology
2022 Retail Success Guide
With only two months left of 2021, retailers should already be looking ahead to the new year for the newest trends, technology, marketing tactics, products, and solutions for improving their business. Independent Retailer has rounded up some of the most important emerging trends in retail to watch out for in 2022 from top retail experts […]
5 Best Ecommerce Platforms for Independent Retailers in 2022
by Shannon Flynn It has become easier than ever to find any product or service with a few strokes of the keyboard. Online shopping is booming and has been since the early days of Amazon, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only strengthened the ecommerce industry as more customers went online to order everything from groceries […]
5 Retail Technology Trends of the Future
by Shannon Flynn It is no secret that COVID-19 has directly impacted the way consumers browse, shop, and purchase goods and services. The pandemic accelerated some of the changes that were already underway, such as the digitization of retail processes, the closing of brick-and-mortar stores, and the need to personalize the shopping experience. Retail technology […]
How to Optimize Ecommerce Recommendations
by Mattieu Blandineau Building a recommendation engine from scratch can be complex, while relying on off-the-shelf, packaged solutions makes it almost impossible to develop a differentiated customer experience or gain a competitive advantage. Now, there is another way — today, retailers have an ability to build recommendations using an API-driven machine intelligence approach that is […]
Customer Experience in the Age of Big Data
by Kevin Grauman We live in an era of unprecedented data, where a consumer’s every action sets off a ripple of digital data. Strings of algorithms interpret this data to create consumer profiles, and companies use these robust data representations to target products and content with great effect. According to a McKinsey study, around 35 […]
Strategically Grow Your Private Label with Science-Based Pricing and Promotions
by Cheryl Sullivan Independent retailers have struggled against proliferating online and brick-and-mortar competition for years. The pandemic only heightened the unpredictability of the fast-changing customer, competitor and shopper behaviors, as well as supply chain disruptions. The Imperative for Science-Driven Pricing and Promotions Fortunately, indie retailers continue to adopt science-based lifecycle pricing (which includes prices, promotions […]
Robots in Retail: 3 Ways Small Shops Can Benefit
by Shannon Flynn Robots are among the latest wave of technology coming to small business retailers in 2021. With pushes for innovation and shopping changes from the COVID-19 pandemic, robots in retail are a growing solution. Fortunately, as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) robots become more common, they also become more affordable. Now […]
Leverage Social Media Automation to Drive Engagement
Since Facebook launched bots in Messenger back in 2016, the number of leads, sales, and talent recruited by businesses has increased exponentially. It’s been four years since then, and the landscape for how businesses harness the power of marketing automation through bots has changed. Different Marketing Entry Points As we roll into 2021, brands can […]
2021 Retail Predictions
Remember at the beginning of 2020 when you thought you had everything all planned out for the year, and then COVID-19 came and knocked all of your preparations off the table? That was not fun for anyone, and many businesses are still trying to recuperate and rebuild their models. We live in very unpredictable times, […]
