As the SuperBowl of shopping comes to an end, one thing became very clear: brands need to be focused on an omnichannel solution for their customers. In a year where everyone is talking about in-store experiences, Black Friday weekend was all about e-commerce. Yahoo reported that “online sales rose more than 23 percent, crossing $6 billion on Black Friday, according to data from Adobe Analytics. On Thanksgiving, it's estimated sales grew 28 percent to $3.7 billion.” The growth continued through the weekend. CNBC reports that Cyber Monday hit a record $7.9 billion in sales, which is an increase of 19.3 percent from a year ago, according to data from Adobe Analytics. Holiday sales are at it's peak, according to Business Insider, as Adobe Analytics is predicting sales to be the biggest in U.S. history.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Sam Kliger, Founder and CEO of KWI, a pioneer of cloud technology for specialty retailers. KWI provides companies with a unified commerce solution for point of sale, merchandising, eCommerce, CRM and loss prevention to create a holistic customer experience— both online and off. KWI counts leading fashion brands and retailers as customers including Bandier, Blue Mercury, Dylan’s Candy Bar, Hatch, NARS, Stance, Il Makiage and many more.
Having a state-of-the-art unified commerce and mobile POS system is crucial to compete in today’s retail market. Is your infrastructure ready to support it? A strong, reliable network (with cutting-edge monitoring, dynamic channel management, traffic shaping, and more) make all the difference in the consumer experience and whether or not you’ve earned a repeat visit and their loyalty.
Sam Kliger, founder and chief executive officer of KWI, shares insights into what's driving the retail industry heading into the second half.
When you’ve reaped retail success in the U.S.—or have been approached by international customers for your product—it’s natural to set your sights abroad. After all, total global retail sales in 2020 are projected to amount to nearly $28 trillion. The outlook for international brick-and-mortar retail is sunny: In Great Britain, for example, the British Independent Retailers Association shows that more shops were opened than were closed in the first quarter of 2017. This was an increase of 414 shops in the first three months of 2017, compared to a net increase of just 4 shops for the same period the previous year.
Business insider just released their list of 25 companies that are revolutionizing retail. Yes, all of these brands introduce something new to the retail landscape, but when analyzing this list, we see a different story. Providing a full shopping experience and considering the consumer at every point of purchase - before, during, and after - matter more than ever.
