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Microsoft Industry Blogs: Retail

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Businessman using modern interface payments online shopping and icon customer network connection on virtual screen.
April 02, 2024
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7 min read

Threefold revolution: The influence of generative AI on retail and consumer goods 

Generative AI provides more possibilities than can be addressed in series of blogs. Understanding what others have done can help guide your thinking and approach. The level of creativity increases daily, and we will all watch the space with anticipation of the most impactful use cases for retail and consumer goods companies. 

Two people in retail store
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6 min read

Microsoft Cloud for Retail: Enabling retailers to transform consumer experience and operations through data 

This is a transformative time in retail. In talking to industry leaders, clear trends emerge, including the growing importance of unlocking consumer insights balanced with privacy, the need for tighter omnichannel experience, the challenge of mitigating supply chain disruptions, and not compromising on sustainability. Ultimately, much of this results in increased consumer and associate expectations

Woman smiles as she unpacks her online shopping order from a cardboard box in her living room.
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5 min read

Microsoft Cloud for Retail and the role of partners 

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

Woman holds cell phone in front of retail storefront display with merchandise at night.
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6 min read

Microsoft Cloud for Retail is now generally available 

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

Image of computer electronics board with a large button displaying a cloud.
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3 min read

Microsoft makes a compelling case for our cloud at Cloud Battleground Week 

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

a man sitting on a couch using a laptop
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4 min read

Top 5 retailer e-commerce readiness actions for holiday 

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

Woman holding Open sign in a small business boutique shop after Covid-19 pandemic
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4 min read

Empowering retail’s real superheroes: Frontline workers 

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

grassy hills and bushes
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4 min read

Top 7 sustainability initiatives for Retail and Consumer Goods organizations 

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

a close up of a basket
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2 min read

Physical meets digital on Walmart Canada shelves, with SES-imagotag IoT technology 

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

a person sitting on a shelf
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2 min read

Empowering better care, everywhere, for everyone with Retail+Health 

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

a person sitting at a table using a laptop computer
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2 min read

NRF Retail Converge: Microsoft and the vital role of partners 

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

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6 min read

Explore the new wave of cloud innovation at NRF Retail Converge 

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