Sizing and fit are top concerns for consumers shopping apparel. According to Shapeometry, in 2019 the apparel returns related to fit hit $60 billion, half of which were returns of online purchases. About 85 percent of apparel returns were due to fit issues. So, the premise of a digital personal avatar sounds great for shoppers, but the reality is that the supply chain cannot deliver to specific avatar sizes. Instead, brands match a personal avatar size to the closest size in the existing product range. Jason Wang, COO of Alvanon explains, …
Technology
Sex, China and Covid-19
Sex, China, and Covid-19. What sounds like an afternoon White House press briefing actually holds the key to understanding why virtual reality (aka VR) is one of the most overblown topics in retail right now. Social media has been a flutter with the usual geek speak on the topic since the outbreak began, and Retail Dive, just last month, also highlighted how the coronavirus pandemic could lead to higher VR adoption and a stronger consumer desire for things like “virtual try-ons” and “virtual malls.” But everyone needs to slow their roll just …
Tech Surprises You Don’t Want
The industry has paid a lot of attention to what stores need to do to reopen, and rightfully so. Big questions loom: how to arrange a store to enforce social distancing, how to provide PPE and sanitation to both employees and customers, new non-touch payment systems and how to provide a lot of plexiglass barriers at cash wraps. One area that has not received as much attention, though, is the technology. Not the registers and the payment devices - though this kind of tech poses its own problems (spraying down keypads can, in some instances, …
Facebook Shops Is a Winner – but for Whom?
In a recent Facebook live stream, Mark Zuckerberg announced Facebook’s latest foray into e-commerce retail. Zuckerberg described Shops as, “The biggest step we have taken yet [in social commerce].” This time Facebook is playing for keeps. Origin Story In August 2019, Facebook pulled rank on its two highly coveted holdings, Instagram and WhatsApp. The tech community howled about brand dilution of the wildly popular apps, and Instagram devotees held their collective noses when the titles of the apps were changed to Instagram from Facebook and …
The New Normal for Retail: Is It Time to Lean Toward Online?
Most people are wondering what life after this recent pandemic will look like. Will we commute back to work, or will working from home and meeting in virtual space become the new norm? Better yet, will we ever vacation away from home - even internationally? Similar questions are also being asked as communities begin to entertain the idea of reopening retail stores. A recent survey by Progressive Grocer already revealed a dramatic shift in the grocery sector, where 31 percent of U.S. households used e-commerce in the past month versus 13 …
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We Like Big Tech Again
We are all living in a time warp as our collective confinement continues, but let’s reminisce back to Q1 2020. In January, California residents gained the right to wrestle back their user data from the tech platforms, retailers, and any other companies that had captured and exploited it. In February, Senator Josh Hawley posited that the FTC take over Google, and Senator Amy Klobuchar introduced an antitrust modernization bill as a cudgel against big tech. The country was speeding toward a new era where the big technology companies would be …
The New Mobile: What Gen Z Wants from In-App Retail
This year Gen Z will surpass millennials as the largest generation. The oldest members of Gen Z are in their early 20s and, as consumers, they're a force to be reckoned with. When we talk about retailing for Gen Z, mobile commerce needs to be at the forefront of the conversation. Gen Z has a 30 percent higher engagement rate than older generations in non-gaming apps. This isn't because Gen Z shop on mobile devices to the exclusion of other channels (you've all seen the stats on Gen Z's return to physical retail), but because young consumers use …
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The Top Target for Cybercrime: Retailers
The pace of change over the past few years has been truly astounding. It's easy to forget, but most of us began our professional lives long before Al Gore invented the internet. Smartwatches were once only worn by Dick Tracy - and Maxwell Smart walked around on the world's only mobile phone. Fast-forward to today, and organizations of every size and in every industry have become wholly reliant on computers and data. From customer insights to logistics; from ecommerce to HR; from social media to financial transactions, every aspect of every …