It’s that time of the year again. Not to start a gym membership or return gifts…it’s that time of year where retailers reflect on holidays past and question if there was room to do more for their customers: faster delivery, seamless returns, relevant recommendations, efficient customer service without the pain of waiting and listening to Read more
If the past two years have taught us anything, it’s that it will take all of us working together to ensure the future of retail is meeting today’s consumer needs. The world of retail has been forever shaped by new behaviors, and many are here to stay. Business-as-usual will no longer meet these expectations. With Read more
In every industry around the world, the past several months have seen organizations adjust to challenges, pursue new business opportunities, and accelerate their digital capabilities in the face of the pandemic that has reshaped our world. Disruption demands the capacity to turn challenge into opportunity. In today’s world, this capacity is built on a strong Read more
Holiday is the most exciting and important time in retail. It’s where all the preseason inventory planning, the ramp up in hiring of seasonal employees for stores and warehouses, the marketing events, and all the promotions come together to deliver up to 60 percent of the total year’s business for the industry. Over the last Read more
Like so many of you, I got my first job in a retail store (after babysitting) and like many around the world it was my first introduction to the workplace. Retail always has been and always will be a people business with many employed on retail’s frontline. If ever there was any doubt about the Read more
We all want to be more sustainable in our day-to-day lives, as consumers and businesses. In fact, I typically consider a new brand or product specifically because of its sustainability practices. And I know I’m not alone. Many of my friends and colleagues share that they like to learn about a brand’s sustainability practices before Read more
While all of us experienced incredible disruption in the past year, retailers and brands emerged as one of the frontline heroes that kept us fed and alive. From farm to fork, from source to store—goods and products still had to flow. Meanwhile, the expectations increased, and many of these products were now expected to arrive Read more
With shoppers returning to the stores, retail investments are flowing to omnichannel priorities to digitize stores, support frontline workforce across all channels, connect inventories across platforms, and accelerate fulfillment. Recent research conducted by The Economist shows that retailer respondents saw the pace of, and investment in, digital transformation accelerate during the pandemic.1 Improving the customer Read more
Over the past year, the pandemic fundamentally changed several industries and impacted the means of consumption and distribution for goods and services globally. With the introduction of social distancing, the decline of indoor interactions and transactions, and unparalleled strain on hospital capacity and care teams, both retailers and health providers had to transform traditional business Read more
Every single day for me is a partner day. While most Microsoft employees wake up eager to serve our customers, myself and Microsoft partner managers aim to drive success with partners that lead to their growth and of course, our customers’ growth. An amazing partner story will be headlined inside of Shelley Bransten’s Big Ideas Read more
It is hard to believe summer is already here and I’m preparing for my BIG Ideas session at the upcoming virtual NRF Retail Converge event. Honestly, I can’t wait to talk more about ‘retail’s new clock speed’ and how we’re helping retailers unlock a new wave of cloud innovation. Although retail leaders continue to refine Read more
Micro-fulfilment centers (MFCs), are small, tech-enabled warehouse facilities built near consumers—sometimes even within stores. They allow retailers to analyze inventory trends and quickly pivot to meet the market’s changing demands. Read more
