Forrester’s Sucharita Kodali Dissects New Retail Risks & Realities

Retail Systems Research has been a tried and true source for industry benchmarks and insights for more than a decade. E-Commerce trends and priorities have been ongoing topics of discussion for the firm, especially the recurring issue of performance. According to Steve Rowen, one of the firm’s managing partners, site speed has consistently been “disturbingly slow” …and it’s only getting worse. During this episode of the Holiday Insights Series, Steve shares relevant takeaways from RSR research and how third-party applications, which have become critical to the online shopping experience, hurt site reliability and performance. Follow RSR on Twitter at @RSRResearch.

This episode is sponsored by YOTTAA

3rd party eCommerce technologies, such as live chat, personalization, and customer reviews, are critical for delivering great online experiences to your shoppers. However, these 3rd parties have also been proven to significantly slow down site performance which can lead to decreased conversions. Yottaa recently published the 2019 3rd party eCommerce Technology index which rates the performance impact of 400 of the top eCommerce 3rd parties. Click here to download the index and see if your 3rd parties are slowing down your site.

Political and economic forces have a resounding impact on consumer sentiment and ultimately, retail industry performance. But how will ongoing conflict between the U.S. and China, as well as an escalating election season, impact holiday spending? Most of all, is there anything that retailers can do to be proactive and come out of the season on top? Retail TouchPoints Senior Editor Glenn Taylor sits down with QuickBridge President Ben Gold to break it all down.

Follow QuickBridge on Twitter: @QuickBridgeOC

Smartphones are consumers’ most personal devices. They’re always within arm’s reach — that is, if they’re not already in their hands. Retailers can harness the power of these devices with highly relevant messaging and timely offers, delivered through mobile advertising. During this episode of the Holiday Insights Series, Benoit Grouchko, Co-Founder and CEO of Teemo, shares how retailers can bridge the digital and physical gap successfully, and A/B test throughout the season to maximize marketing results. 

Follow Teemo on Twitter: @Teemo_World 

Prime Day 2019 has long passed, but its impact remains. After all, Amazon reported that this year’s event was the largest in its history, selling more items than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined. As Prime Day and Singles’ Day capture more consumer wallet share and media headlines, retailers are considering how these landmark sales “holidays” will influence their core holiday strategies. During this episode of the Holiday Insights Series, Sucharita Kodali, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester, offers commentary on Prime Day performance and what retailers can do to measure up as consumer expectations evolve.

Every day, retail executives must navigate new shopper behaviors and preferences. But they must also respond swiftly to outside political and economic forces that ultimately impact consumer sentiment and spending. 

Is your team prepared to respond and adapt to these new developments as they emerge?  

In this interview, Sucharita Kodali, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester, shares her take on the current retail climate, her predictions for 2019, and what executives can do to prepare. 

What else is in store for the future of retail? Register today for Forrester’s 3-part webinar series. For more from Forrester on retail, please click here.

During the holiday season, 66% of online traffic and 48% of orders came from mobile devices. And in 2019, mobile will only play a more paramount role in the shopping journey, according to Rob Garf, VP of Industry Strategy and Insights at Salesforce. Augmented by AI-powered recommendations, voice search and in-store clienteling, mobile has officially reached a tipping point. Are you ready to get your share of sales?

Follow Rob and Salesforce on Twitter:

• @RetailRobGarf
• @Salesforce

See all Salesforce holiday research and insights:

• Holiday Shopping Report
• Holiday Insights Hub

The 2018 holiday season has unearthed a number of new trends and has reaffirmed the importance of others. But how will these new rules and realities impact retailers’ plans for 2019? Bryan Gildenberg, Chief Knowledge Officer of Kantar Consulting, provides his commentary on what’s happened during the holiday season and how retailers can take these developments to create better experiences in 2019.

Follow Bryan and Kantar Consulting on Twitter:

• @BryanG_KR
• @KantarConsult

Check out more research and insights from the Kantar team:

• KantarConsulting.com
• KRIQ.com
• Retail Sound Bites Podcast

Brian Solis has spent his career studying new consumer behaviors, disruptive technologies and how they impact businesses across industries. Needless to say, he has a lot of opinions about the Retail Apocalypse, the holiday season and why most retail innovation projects fail. We dive into all this and more during this episode of the Holiday Insights Series.

• Twitter: @BrianSolis
• Website: www.briansolis.com
• Research: Leading Trends In Retail Innovation

Melissa Gonzalez, CEO of The Lion’esque Group, is our go-to expert on all things related to store design, pop-ups and in-store experience. During our conversation, we talk about the evolution of the pop-up, the power of holiday events and why every retailer should create Instagrammable moments in their stores.

Learn more from Melissa and the Lion’esque Group:

• Twitter: @MelsStyles
• Company Website: The Lion’esque Group
• Get store design inspo from The Lion’esqe Group’s Instagram: @LionesqueGroup
• Hear more about Melissa’s thoughts on the future of the store.