Customer Engagement

Subway will be acquired by affiliates of Roark Capital, while SHEIN partners with SPARC Group to expand their offerings for consumers.

Walmart is rolling out initiatives emphasizing engagement and expanding consumer offerings, including drone delivery and developing experiences within Roblox's virtual gaming platform.

Despite massive investments in digital transformation, the soaring trajectory of innovation, and consumers who increasingly expect exceptional commerce experiences, much of the infrastructure powering digital commerce has remained unchanged for the past 20 years. The limitations and perceived complexity of traditional e-commerce catalogs have made it difficult for multi-faceted businesses like franchises, channel partnerships, multi-brand organizations, and distributor-to-supplier networks to succeed. In reality, however, the problem is not complexity. The problem is a lack of strategic processes for managing that complexity, leading to poor integration of new data into catalogs and diminished brand identity, tarnishing the customer experience and reducing revenue. Poorly managed complexity causes back-office systems issues that ripple into front-end consumer interfaces and experiences.

Macy’s reported weaker second-quarter earnings, shedding light on reduced consumer spending, named a chief customer and digital officer, and announced small-format expansion plans.

Manufacturers and retailers have always had an important, symbiotic relationship. Given the supply chain issues caused by the pandemic, however, that relationship changed. With difficulty moving products from one place to another, many manufacturers began exploring direct-to-consumer sales as a way to maintain growth through uncertain times. In fact, D2C sales have been on a steady upswing for years, and are projected to surpass $200 billion by 2024.

The beauty retailer will now accept payment via employee devices in select U.S. stores. Get the details.

The convenience store retailer has revamped its mobile app and loyalty capabilities. Get the details.

PacSun is upgrading its POS system, with a view to bringing the omnichannel experience to a broader segment of customers. Get the details.