Digital transformation, customer experience and omnichannel are three of the biggest buzzwords in retail these days. Here’s one more to add to the conversation: layaway. Surprised? That’s understandable. After all, layaway is a century-old service that many retailers phased out decades ago when credit cards went mainstream. But many others still offer layaway. One reason…

If you’re looking for new and different ways to provide a great customer experience, consider the surveillance systems you already have in your stores, warehouses and even parking lots. They’re there to thwart theft, but with a little incremental investment, these systems can identify opportunities to wow customers and keep them coming back. Take checkout…

When we talk about improving employee productivity through mobility, the conversation often focuses on knowledge workers who use their mobile devices and apps to get real-time information on the road, catch up on emails in airports and join video collaboration sessions from their homes and hotel rooms. But in reality, mobile devices and apps help…

Retailers that do business in the European Union are settling in to the new normal of operating under the privacy and security provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation. In the early days, retail IT teams paid significant attention to the structure of their back-end systems, trying to understand how to modify them to meet…

One of the biggest barriers to digital transformation is knowing where to start. Another is finding the budget. Enhanced video surveillance provides a great example of how to overcome both. Take retail, for instance. Most stores have extensive video surveillance systems to catch shoplifters and pilfering employees. Often, these systems can be quickly and cost-effectively…

For a large retailer in the news recently, 90 minutes of system issues likely cost it approximately $50 million in lost sales. Initial reports showed that the company was unable to process credit card transactions because of an error that occurred during a normal maintenance cycle. Obviously, that’s bad news for a retailer — and…