Category: Retail

Whether you’re buying online or in a physical store, shopping should be easy, simple, and enjoyable. In the customer’s mind, the retailer or brand is one entity, regardless of the sales channel. For this reason, customers expect their journey to fluidly shift between digital and physical touchpoints with the same conveniences in store as online. […]

Innovative retailers realize they need to create smart stores to enhance their customer experiences.  Recent advances in point-of-sale technologies are making it possible for retailers to reimagine the shopper in-store journey. With new retail technologies, long retail checkout lines and other in-store bottlenecks could soon be a thing of the past. Frictionless Retail Customer Experiences […]

As retailers around the world are experiencing unprecedented disruption, industry leaders are demonstrating resilience, tenacity, and a capacity for innovation. We’ve embarked on a series of conversations with executives from AWS strategic partners, to showcase their leadership and innovation in challenging times. In the latest installment of our Retail Partner Conversations blog series, we chat […]

Believe it or not, despite the massive shift to online purchasing, brick-and-mortar stores are the hub for delivering unified commerce. To be successful and remain viable, retailers must equip stores to elevate the customer experience, operate efficiently, and adapt with agility to changing market dynamics. Use the Past to Guide Your Future With the emergence […]

Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) most frequently mention these core capabilities of their ecommerce architectures: The ability to innovate at the digital and physical front ends that support sales channels. The effort required to integrate the increasing number of other IT systems. Those who talk more about innovation are usually builders. Revenue, metrics, and innovation are […]

Consumer expectations are always changing, which means retailers are often playing catch-up to align their offerings with customers’ evolving behaviors. The pandemic illuminated the chasm between the retailers who have kept pace with market changes and those who have struggled. For a long time, we’ve seen ecommerce sites flex and stretch, while centralized systems and […]

Since joining AWS three years ago, the top questions I get by far pertain to Amazon’s culture and speed of innovation. Here are the kinds of things people want to know: What’s it like working for AWS? How does Amazon respond so quickly to customers’ wants, needs, and desires? How can I innovate like Amazon? […]

I joined AWS two years ago to lead the professional services organization for the AWS retail segment. Throughout my career in technology consulting, I’ve worked with retailers that run the gamut in size, scope, market share, and sector. I’ve noticed a common dilemma when companies want to embark on transformational technology initiatives. Many retailers aren’t […]

The ever-increasing popularity of live streaming is opening up new opportunities for online customer interactions. With live streaming providing engaging content, it can facilitate the flow of customers into online shopping, joining the shopping experience with other forms of online engagement. Personalized recommendations also allow online stores to pick the right products at the right […]

The National Retail Federation’s NRF2021 Big Show, the premier conference for innovative brands and retail professionals, took place as a virtual event this year. Though we missed connecting in person with old friends and colleagues at New York’s Javits Center, NRF’s Big Ideas sessions still came through with fresh insights from retailers at the forefront […]