RETAIL NEWS - Crane Worldwide€¦ ·  · 2017-08-25Grow 4.0% in 2017 p11 JUN/JUL/AUG 2017 TOP STORIES How Generation ... JUN/JUL/AUG 2017 RETAIL NEWS As the summer continues, ...

RETAIL NEWS

Back-to-School Shopping to Grow 4.0% in 2017 p11

JUN/JUL/AUG 2017

TOP STORIESHow Generation Z is shaping the future of shopping ― p7

INNOVATIONThe Rise of Chatbots for Commerce ― p12

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JUN/JUL/AUG 2017 RETAIL NEWSCO

NTEN

TS 5-6 BEST PRACTICES / MARKET TREND REPORTEnd-to-End Visibility: Handling the Demands of Retail

Five questions brands need to answer to be customer first in the digital age

Helping Procurement Professionals Build Resilience in Their Own Supply Chains

Making Dock Operations Smarter and More Connected

Order Promising in a Competitive World

Supply Chain Design 101 – What is Supply Chain Design and Why is it the Key to Supply Chain Success?

6-11 TOP STORIESAir freight traffic rises 10.4% in first half of 2017Brands bristle at third-party sellers on Amazon, but have little recourseExisting-home sales rise to nine-year high in MayFidget Spinners Losing Popularity in the US How Generation Z is shaping the future of shopping July manufacturing output remains in growth mode, reports ISM Retail shrink grew to almost $50 billion in 2016, NRF says

Up to 25% of U.S. shopping malls may close in the next five years, report says

US Economy Continues Upswing with July Job Boom

Majority Of Millennials Believes Money Can Buy Happiness

Five Signs That Stores (Not E-Commerce) Are The Future Of Retail

Global Economy Picks Ups Speed, Says Atradius Worldwide

The economy stays on course despite fiscal policy uncertainties

Deloitte: Retailers have false sense of cyber-security

Retail’s Reinvention Story Is Just Getting Started

U.S. B2B e-commerce is on course to hit $1.18 trillion by 2021

Back-to-School Shopping to Grow 4.0% in 2017

12-13 INNOVATION & OPERATIONSFor back to school, retailers look to cash in on eco-friendly products

Study Reveals Majority of Manufacturers Will Embrace ‘Smart Factories’ by 2022

The Rise of Chatbots for Commerce

The third state to allow delivery robots is....

Walmart is developing a robot that identifies unhappy shoppers

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JUN/JUL/AUG 2017 RETAIL NEWS

A digital upgrade for Chinese manufacturing

Alibaba and Marriott International form JV

Alibaba primed for explosive global growth

Chinese shoppers devour online grocery delivery

JD.com made a record-breaking $17.6bn in sales during its annual 6.18 shopping festival

Taking on Netflix in Southeast Asia

What China Reveals About the Future of Shopping

13-14 RETAILING IN ASIA-PACIFIC

15-16 RETAILING IN EUROPE, INDIA, MIDDLE EAST, AFRICAE-commerce shippers welcome cross-border parcels breakthrough

Europe’s Luxury Retailers May Be Returning to Form

Heathrow underground warehousing plan approved

IKEA Starts Selling Solar Batteries to U.K. Homeowners

India top retail investment destination

Safaricom Sees Amazon as Model for Kenya E-Commerce Platform

Retail Ecommerce in Germany to Top $65 Billion

17-19 RETAILING IN THE AMERICASAbercrombie expanding in a big way in China

Brick-and-mortar retail is hot in this specialty segment

FedEx foregoes holiday surcharges in direct contrast with UPS

It's Not Just Retail That's Changing. It's Us.

JDE brings premium coffee brand to Brazil as luxury segment soars

Plano-based At Home has rising stock and stores on the way

Sears to Sell Kenmore Brand on Amazon

With its 'endless aisle' Walmart Canada takes another swipe at Amazon

19 CWW RETAIL LOGISTICS SUCCESS STORY

20 RETAILING JARGON

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JUN/JUL/AUG 2017 RETAIL NEWS

As the summer continues, consumers are busy

preparing for the start of the 2017 shopping season

beginning with back to school shopping in mid-to

late August. Retailers also are busy preparing for

the 2017 shopping season ensuring their supply

chain operations are ready and able to provide

consumers with the service levels they expect

regardless of where consumers purchase their

products.

In order for retailers to meet the challenges of

consumers’ expectations, supply chain operations

must be consumer focused to seamlessly provide

the high levels of delivery convenience, product

selection and availability, and service experience.

Today’s retail solutions need to incorporate agility

and flexibility in their design and operation to

move and respond with ever increasing consumer

expectations. Crane Worldwide Logistics and our

global presence and innovative logistics solutions

can help our retail clients meet this goal for the

marketplace today and tomorrow.

In this Summer edition of the retail newsletter, I

have selected articles and reports providing an in-

depth review of retail sales and trends impacting

the industry. In addition, I have selected several

reports highlighting the innovations defining the

industry for 2017 and in the coming years. I am also

including a success story on how Crane Worldwide

Logistics has partnered with DAVACO Inc. to create

innovative logistics solutions for the retail market.

Finally, I am including some useful retailing terms

and definitions. As always, it’s an exciting time to

be in the retail logistics industry!

Sincerely,

Dr. David Widdifield, DM.Director, Retail Solutions, Crane Worldwide Logistics

Contact: [email protected]

Hello everyone,“

”

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JUN/JUL/AUG 2017 RETAIL NEWS

End-to-End Visibility: Handling the Demands of Retail GTNexus - Kurt Salmon and GT Nexus surveyed retail executives to assess their goals and confidence levels for supply chain visibility and fulfillment; our survey report identifies specific areas of improvement that can deliver significant ROI. Retail is a challenging battleground, both physically and digitally. Retailers are battling on two fronts; 1) traditional: Competition amongst retailers and 2) nontraditional: Uberization and Amazonization of commerce, CPGs going direct to the consumer. Today, this battlefield is dark. Information exists but it is beyond the control of the organization. It is invisible. 80% of the information that is needed to make decisions resides with external parties such as suppliers or 3PLs. After three decades of information revolution, organizations have invested millions of dollars in pursuit of actionable supply chain information systems – CRMs, ERPs, WMSs are just a few examples. Unfortunately, many of these provide linear and limited information. The end-to-end picture that can dynamically tie cause and effect is still missing. > Download the report to learn more.

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Five questions brands need to answer to be customer first in the digital age McKinsey- A strong brand voice is a living, breathing manifestation of your brand promise. This voice comes from a much deeper place than stringing together clever words and phrases to sell products. An authentic brand voice solves problems, delivers a great customer experience, and stands for something. That’s as true in the digital age as it was in the analog one. The problem is that it’s much harder to have a strong and consistent brand voice in the digital age. The very breadth of consumer interactions with a brand – from viewing a product online to following posts on Snapchat to calling customer service – has fragmented and complicated how brands connect with consumers. While most large

companies are still in the early stages of developing a fully integrated marketing organization, this report helps uncover and answer the most important questions to ask when developing your brand voice in the digital age.

> Download the report to learn more

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Helping Procurement Professionals Build Resilience in Their Own Supply Chains Supply Chain 247- Risk in global supply chains has reached its highest in almost quarter of a century. With the growth of outsourcing and the evolution of multi-tiered global supply networks many organizations now face direct and growing operational and legislative risk from disruption or malpractice in their supply chains. Strategically focused supply professionals have begun to investigate what is important to the organization and the end-customer in order to identify what delivers both customer and shareholder value.

This paper is an introduction to the work the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) is doing to produce a good practice guide and online tool that can be used to help develop an organizations’ end-to-end supply chain resilience

> Download the full report to learn more

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Making Dock Operations Smarter and More Connected Zebra- As the volume of global shipments continues to rise, logistics companies are facing increasing pressure to get more goods loaded faster, more efficiently and at a lower cost. But achieving this is a challenge. Dock managers manually supervise dozens of dock doors at once, manage inexperienced loaders and have aggressive time schedules. Line haul managers can only estimate time till close, leaving yard managers to work very reactively to plan their next move. Overall,

Best Practices/Market Trend Report

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JUN/JUL/AUG 2017 RETAIL NEWSaccess to pertinent accurate data is not always available early enough or at the right time. Together, this results in loading inefficiencies and mistakes that can lead to costly shipping damage, wasted trailer space and injured workers. To overcome these challenges, logistics companies are automating their operations and leveraging new technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), mobility and cloud computing to heighten visibility and ultimately revolutionize business processes. In this report you will find how the often overlooked area of the loading dock is now taking advantage of technology to create a “smart dock” where operations are optimized to improve efficiencies and reduce costs while driving improved business outcomes. > Download the report to learn more

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Order Promising in a Competitive World Supply Chain Mgmt Review- Changes in customer expectations mean that companies can no longer rely on product attributes alone to keep customers coming back. All aspects of customers’ interactions with the brand are important to create meaningful and relevant customer journeys. Order fulfillment is the foundational building block of customer service. Promising customer orders with greater reliability through a holistic and

automated approach enables companies to reduce expedites, improve on-time delivery and increase customer satisfaction. In this white paper, you’ll learn why typical workarounds fail, and how to promise orders reliably by; 1) flexibly prioritizing orders, 2) running what-if scenarios, and 3) using reliable data.

> Download the report to learn more

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Supply Chain Design 101 What is Supply Chain Design and Why is it the Key to Supply Chain Success?

LlamaSoft- Once upon a time, way back in the technology dark ages (sometime before Y2K), supply chain network models had to be created by hand. As technology progressed, spreadsheets were used alongside calculators and back of napkin sketches, but it was still pretty much a manual process done once a year – or less. Fast-forward to modern times: today’s supply chains are increasingly complex and function in volatile global networks. Businesses needed a way to visualize the supply chain digitally, and get answers to a myriad of what-if questions that spreadsheets cannot accommodate

> Download the report to learn more____________________________________________

Air freight traffic rises 10.4% in first half of 2017 Supply Chain Dive June 2017 marked air freight's strongest first six months of growth since 2010, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) June 2017 Air Freight Report. Global freight ton kilometers (FTKs) grew 10.4% in H1 2017, and the report also noted that increasing demand is now "outpacing" capacity. Although air freight growth slowed from 12.7% in May to 11% in June, H1 2017 grew 27% YoY from 2016, which is why the IATA believes air freight will continue its upward trend. > Read more ____________________________________________

Brands bristle at third-party sellers on Amazon, but have little DigiDay - Whether a retailer wants its products to be sold on Amazon or not, the brand will most likely end up being listed on the platform by third-party sellers. Those independent vendors – which are typically unauthorized by brands – are becoming a headache for many retailers. In late July, Amazon reportedly contacted thousands of third-party vendors about participating in its Fulfillment by Amazon program, in which Amazon would buy their inventory at full price and then sell those products on its site. The move incensed Birkenstock CEO David Kahan, who wrote in a letter to Birkenstock

Top Stories

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JUN/JUL/AUG 2017 RETAIL NEWSretailers that the company prohibits its retail partners from reselling even a single pair of Birkenstock sandals on Amazon. Despite Birkenstock’s efforts, its sandals are still sold on Amazon today. And that’s the case for many brands that don’t want to be sold on Amazon. If a product is in high demand, Amazon will get it from distributors and third-party sellers, said Matt Sargent, SVP of retail for consulting firm Magid Associates. The best thing for brands to do might be to work with Amazon to limit their risk. > Read more

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Existing-home sales rise to nine-year high in May eMarketer- e=Sales rose to the highest since February 2007, but prices hit their highest ever. Sales of previously owned homes increased in May to the highest level in nearly a decade, another sign of durable demand in the housing market. Existing-home sales rose 1.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.53 million, according to the National Association of

Realtors. That is 4.5% higher compared to a year ago and the highest pace since February 2007. Though sales are strong, constrained inventory continues to dog the market, pushing prices higher and out of reach of many buyers. The median price in May was $239,700, 4.7% higher than a year ago. At the current pace of sales, there are 4.7 months’ worth of homes available on the market, well below the 6 months considered a marker of a balanced market. Properties stayed on the market for 32 days in May, the shortest period since NAR began tracking that measure in 2011.

> Read more _____________________________________________

Fidget Spinners Losing Popularity in the US Statista - Fidget Spinners are this year's toy craze. But when did it actually start – and what is the current state of the hype? To find out, Five Thirty Eight explored the trend in popularity of the term "Fidget Spinner" in the US. The result is good news for parents and teachers fed up with kids' ubiquitous spinning of the metallic wheel: interest for the popular toy in the United States peaked in early May and has since lost popularity in recent weeks. From January onwards, rising search requests on Google reflect the popularity of the spinning toy in the U.S. Onwards, the toy craze gained momentum, particularly during March with a continuously rising number of searches until May. June figures show a flattening out in interest. > Read more_____________________________________________

How Generation Z is shaping the future of shopping Stores- Generation Z (Gen Z) has decidedly different values than their millennial predecessors. Research conducted as recent as January into Gen Z consumers, born between the mid-1990s and early 2000s, has consistently shown that 67% of Gen Z respondents aged 13-21 do most of their shopping in-store; another 31% do so some of the time. Stores that reliably have served teens for generations have seriously struggled in the recent year with a number of store closings and

IMAGE: IStock

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JUN/JUL/AUG 2017 RETAIL NEWSbankruptcies even as popularity of in-store shopping is growing among Gen Z consumers. So, what gives? “These [mall] stores have been around for a long time,” says Wendy Liebmann, CEO at WSL Strategic Retail. “If a teenager has been with their older brother or sister or parent and gone to the mall, they’ve seen these stores there, and view them as the stores of another generation. “That doesn’t mean they can’t be modernized. But … they have not changed dramatically from the place you would have shopped 10 years ago. They are not speaking to a younger generation in their innovation, their social and community engagement, or in the way that this generation expects their products to be presented. This generation values entrepreneurship and uniqueness, Liebmann says, smaller stores, local stores, consignment shops and vintage stores and markets are more appealing. > Read more

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July manufacturing output remains in growth mode, reports ISM Modern Materials Handling - While falling short of June’s pace, manufacturing output began the second half of 2017 in decent shape, according to data issued in the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) monthly Manufacturing Report on Business, which was released earlier today. The July PMI, the index used by the ISM to measure growth, was off 1.5% from June at 56.3 (a reading of 50 or higher indicates growth), with the PMI growing for the last 11 months and the overall economy up for the last 98 months. The July PMI is the fourth highest reading in the last 12 months and is 0.1% below the 12-month average of 56.3 and 1.4% above the 12-month average of 54.7. > Read more_____________________________________________

Retail shrink grew to almost $50 billion in 2016, NRF says Drug Store News- Thefts from retailers and other inventory “shrink” grew to $48.9 billion in 2016 from $45.2 billion the year before even as budget constraints left retail security budgets flat or declining, according to the annual National Retail Security survey released

Thursday by the National Retail Federation and the University of Florida. The thefts amounted to 1.44% of sales, up from 1.38%. According to the report, 48.8% of retailers surveyed reported increases in inventory shrink, while only 16.7% said it remained flat. Shrink was divided into shoplifting and organized retail crime (36.5%), employee theft/internal (30%), administrative paperwork error (21.3%) and vendor fraud or error (5.4%). Shoplifting continued to account for the greatest losses with an average of $798.48 per incident, up from $377 in 2015.

> Read more _____________________________________________

Up to 25% of U.S. shopping malls may close in the next five years, report says LA Times - Between 20% and 25% of the nation’s shopping malls will close in the next five years, according to a new report from Credit Suisse that predicts e-commerce will continue to pull shoppers away from bricks-and-mortar retailers. For many, the Wall Street firm’s finding may come as no surprise. Long-standing retailers are dying off as shoppers’ habits shift online. Credit Suisse expects apparel sales to represent 35% of all e-commerce by 2030, up from 17% today. However...the research took an overly simplistic view of the changing landscape of shopping centers, said analyst David Marcotte, senior vice president with Kantar Retail. “There are still malls being built,” Marcotte said. “Predominantly outlet malls and lifestyle malls.” Paula Rosenblum, co-founder and retail analyst at RSR Research, believes the report overstates the risks, and says lower-tier shopping centers in particular would bear the brunt of the blow. “The problem with a lot of these studies ... is they look at what’s dying, they don’t look at what’s being born,” Rosenblum said.

> Read more_____________________________________________

US Economy Continues Upswing with July Job Boom Supply and Demand Chain Executive- The U.S. economy added 209,000 jobs in July, according to

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JUN/JUL/AUG 2017 RETAIL NEWSgovernment data released Friday, surpassing economists' expectations and suggesting the economy continues to thrive after an extended streak of job gains in recent years. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.3 percent, compared with 4.4 percent in June, and wages rose by 2.5 percent from the year before to $26.36 in July. “It was pretty solid across the board,” said Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at JP Morgan. “It suggests there is really no slowing in the momentum of the labor market.”

> Read more _____________________________________________

Majority Of Millennials Believes Money Can Buy Happiness Media Post- More than half (53%) of Millennials agree that the more money you have, the happier you are, according to new research from Mintel. That compares to 38% of Americans overall who hold that belief. When it comes to their financial well-being overall, nearly three-quarters of Millennials consider their personal financial situation to be “healthy” (35%) or “okay” (38%), which is on par with other generations. Mintel defines “healthy” as having money left at the end of the month for some luxuries or to add to savings, while “okay” is defined as getting by, but there's not a lot left by the time basics are taken care of. This generation is also optimistic about the future, with 51% of Millennials agreeing that they are confident in their financial future and just one-quarter (24%) considering saving for retirement to be a financial challenge (compared to 29% overall). > Read more

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Five Signs That Stores (Not E-Commerce) Are The Future Of Retail Forbes- To say that digital commerce is killing off physical stores is lazy thinking and a half-truth. On the contrary, pure-play online shopping is the imperiled model, evidenced by the lack of e-commerce-only retailers – save for Amazon and eBay – that have gained any meaningful heft and influence. Of course, e-commerce is informing how we shop, having an outsized impact on traditional retail: from the rise of buy online, pick up in-store perks to the fact that Amazon is

now the second biggest seller of consumer electronics after Best Buy. But the spate of retail bankruptcies, store closings and liquidations doesn’t mean consumers have traded in bricks for clicks. They reflect a mixed brew of factors, including a vastly overstored retail landscape still sized for a pre e-commerce/pre Great Recession shopping mindset, just as consumers are buying fewer tangible things, like a new purse, and opting for more experiential purchases, like a dinner out. And despite all the chatter about e-commerce putting brick-and-mortar out of business, it’s the online-only merchants that are struggling to go it alone (think Etsy), as legacy retailers such as Wal-Mart buy up online merchants.

> Read more_____________________________________________

Global Economy Picks Ups Speed, Says Atradius Worldwide Supply and Demand Chain Executive- The U.S. economy added 209,000 jobs in July, according to government data released Friday, surpassing economists' expectations and suggesting the economy continues to thrive after an extended streak of job gains in recent years. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.3 percent, compared with 4.4 percent in June, and wages rose by 2.5 percent from the year before to $26.36 in July. “It was pretty solid across the board,” said Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at JP Morgan. “It suggests there is really no slowing in the momentum of the labor market.”

> Read more _____________________________________________

The economy stays on course despite fiscal policy uncertainties National Retail Federation- June marks the eighth consecutive year of U.S. economic expansion, the third-longest in the post-World War II period. While the pace of growth has not measured up to past expansions, there is no reason to expect that it will end anytime soon. The expansion has been subject to fits and starts, but the narrative regarding the economic outlook has not changed – economic activity is expected to continue to grow and will probably oscillate around a trend of about 2%. Consumers’ ability to spend has been strengthened

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JUN/JUL/AUG 2017 RETAIL NEWSin recent months, personal income rose 0.4 percent in April and was 3.6 percent higher than the same month a year ago. Household wealth reached a record $94.8 trillion in the first quarter of 2017 as the stock market and home prices climbed. Gains in income and household net worth are key components underpinning consumer spending > Read more_____________________________________________

Deloitte: Retailers have false sense of cyber-security Chain Store Age- A majority of companies, including retailers, are confident about cyber-security, but their confidence may not be justified. That’s according to “Cyber Risk in Consumer Business,” a report from Deloitte. The report is based on input from more than 400 CIOs, CISOs, CTOs and other senior executives. According to the study, more than three-quarters (76%) of consumer business executives are highly confident in their ability to respond to a cyber incident. Yet, many face issues that critically impair their ability to do so. For example, a majority of executives surveyed (82%) indicated their organization has not documented and tested cyber response plans involving business stakeholders within the past year. Less than half (46%) said their organization performs war games and threat simulations on a quarterly or semiannual basis. One quarter (25%) reported a lack of cyber-funding, while roughly one in five (21%) lack clarity on cyber mandates, roles and responsibilities. “In the study, we found that just 30% to 40% of companies currently investing in platforms, such as consumer analytics, cloud integration, connected products and mobile payments have mature programs in place to address related risks,” said Barb Renner, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP and U.S. consumer products leader. “Many of these technologies involve a broad set of data types that could expose consumers to much more than stolen credit cards and identity theft,” she added. “Beyond customer data, the risks can range from protecting food safety in manufacturing and supply chains to intellectual property of new products and formulas. Allowing cyber response planning to lag can undercut the upside of investments in advanced digital technologies. It can become a one step forward,

two steps back proposition to pursue advanced technologies without equal attention to cyber threats.” Companies may also underestimate the importance of consumer trust. When thinking about potential cyber incidents, consumer product companies surveyed seem to be primarily concerned with production disruptions (48%) and loss of intellectual property (42%), while 16% are concerned with tarnishing brand perceptions related to trust. > Read more_____________________________________________

Retail’s Reinvention Story Is Just Getting Started National Retail Federation- Reports of the industry’s death are greatly exaggerated. NRF’s vice president of research looks at the numbers to see what’s really going on. We’ve all heard that retail is in trouble — even serious trouble, depending on who you listen to. It’s true that some large, well-known brands are facing challenging times, just as in every industry. But the narrative that retail is struggling – or even dying – is significantly overblown. Nobody questioned the viability of mobile technology when people ditched flip phones in favor of iOS and Android devices. It’s clear that retailers are responding to a changing and challenging environment, and as in any evolving industry, some will succeed while others fail. Competition is tougher than ever. Foreign retailers are steadily increasing their presence in the United States, innovative new business models are being developed to appeal to the modern consumer and small businesses and startups can compete in niche markets in ways that would have been impossible just a decade ago. The challenges brought by technological innovation are impacting businesses across a range of industries – and when big companies start to struggle, people take notice. Most consumers haven’t even heard of the companies that make up the list of 2016’s top 10 bankruptcies, but that’s not the case with retail. Retail is a part of our everyday lives in a way most industries aren’t; if a national brand closes stores or files for bankruptcy, we often feel a personal impact or connection to its demise.

> Read more _____________________________________________

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JUN/JUL/AUG 2017 RETAIL NEWS

Last-Mile Delivery from “Wow” to “Required” eMarketer Updates Worldwide Internet and Mobile User Figures

Port Tracker report looks at projected positive growth

Retail sales up in April

Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach both turn in strong April volumes

Shipper study stresses supply chain value over costs

Study: Gen Z digital, decisive and drone-ready

Supply Chain News: Theft in Distribution Centers Growing Threat, Security Expert Says

NRF: Retail jobs on the increase in April

US Industrial Production Rises Most in More Than Three Years

Report: Online growth continues at blistering pace

U.S. B2B e-commerce is on course to hit $1.18 trillion by 2021 Digital Commerce 360- B2B e-commerce is still surging to new heights – projected to hit $1.2 trillion in the United States alone by 2021, Forrester Research says in a new report. Forrester vice president and lead B2B e-commerce analyst Andy Hoar and other Forrester analysts, projects a slight dip in earlier projected figures for 2020 – to $1.098 trillion in the U.S. by 2020, down 3% from $1.132 trillion projected in a report released in April 2015. Forrester said B2B e-commerce sales and total B2B sales were expected to increase by smaller annual growth rates over the next few years compared with growth rates projected two years ago. It now projects a compound annual growth rate from 2016 to 2021 of 7.4%, down from the 7.7% it had projected for 2015 to 2020. Forrester estimates that U.S. B2B e-commerce sales will reach $889 billion this year, up 7.2% from $829 billion last year, grow 7.3% annually for three years, then climb 7.9% between 2020 and 2021 to reach $1.184 trillion.

> Read more _____________________________________________

Back-to-School Shopping to Grow 4.0% in 2017 eMarketer- US retail sales during the back-to-school shopping season of July and August 2017 will grow 4.0% over 2016, according to eMarketer’s latest forecast. Last year set a record for back-to-school season sales, but 2017 will be even better. US retail sales during those core months will reach an estimated $857.18 billion, accounting for 17.0% of total retail sales for the year. Ecommerce for the back-to-school season will grow 14.8% to $74.03 billion in 2017. That represents 8.6% of total back-to-school retail sales—online and offline—for the period, up from the 7.8% share last year. “Ecommerce growth this year comes on top of a strong year in 2016, making it that much more impressive,” said eMarketer senior analyst Yory Wurmser. “Younger consumers that shop in preparation for going back to high school and college actually prefer shopping online, so ecommerce growth should continue for the foreseeable future.” Five product areas play an outsized role during the back-to-school season. > Read more

IMAGE: IStock

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JUN/JUL/AUG 2017 RETAIL NEWS

For back to school, retailers look to cash in on eco-friendly products

USA Today - This back-to-school season, it’s cool to be eco-conscious. With teens, tweens, and their college-aged peers showing a particular interest in products that go easy on the environment, retailers are carrying a growing number of eco-friendly products -- from backpacks and blue jeans stitched from fibers made from recycled plastic bottles to shoes constructed from ocean waste. It's a good play by retailers eager to grab a chunk of the $83.6 billion that the National Retail Federation's annual survey is predicting will be spent on back-to-school and back-to-college gear this year. “Between the consumer and the manufacturer, I think we’re all looking for products out there that have a positive impact in our world,’’ says Jennifer Carroll, a general manager at the bag maker Carry Gear Solutions, who oversees a line of Lego Bags back packs and lunch bags made from recycled water bottles. This season, J.C. Penney is increasing the eco-friendly options that it features on its site and shelves. Teens and younger shoppers will be able to choose among three styles of jeans from the retailer’s signature Arizona brand that are woven with polyester derived from recycled plastic bottles. > Read more _____________________________________________

Study Reveals Majority of Manufacturers Will Embrace ‘Smart Factories’ by 2022 SDC Executive- Driven by globalization, intensifying competition and rising customer demand for more options and higher quality products, a connected plant floor has become a necessity. A new Manufacturing Vision Study by Zebra Technologies shows the number of organizations achieving a fully connected factory is expected to rise dramatically over the next five years. “Manufacturers are entering a new era in which producing high-quality products is paramount to retaining and acquiring customers as well as capturing significant cost savings that impact the bottom line,” says Jeff Schmitz,

senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Zebra. > Read more _____________________________________________

The Rise of Chatbots for Commerce Linked In Pulse- Let’s face it – consumers today want to get what they need immediately and efficiently, with as few clicks or steps as possible. The idea that “there’s an app for that” has lost a bit of steam as consumers began to discover that they don’t actually want a separate app for everything they need to do. Instead, they really just want to get those things done with more utility than more tools. And then an idea was born – what if you could simply talk to app to give direction or ask questions? If we could enable computers to interact with humans, couldn’t we then create experiences that would transcend demographics? After all, new capabilities in Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) could make it an exciting reality. By 2020, studies show that 50 percent of searches will be made by voice and 30 percent of web browsing will be screenless. Add the simplicity of chatting with brands as a friend to commerce, and you’ve opened up an exciting world of payment possibilities. Conversational commerce, as we in Mastercard like to call it. > Read more

Innovation & Operations

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JUN/JUL/AUG 2017 RETAIL NEWSThe third state to allow delivery robots is....Chain Store Age - Wisconsin has become the third state to legalize the use of the automated robots. Virginia and Idaho passed similar legislation earlier this year. The Wisconsin law places an 80-pound weight limit on the robots, and doesn’t permit the machines to travel faster than 10 miles per hour. The robots are also required to have a person in the loop to take over control in case something goes awry, according to ReCode. The personal delivery devices (PDDs) will be used to deliver orders within a two-mile radius. The units were appealing to state representatives because they can assist with reducing congestion and pollution in cities and neighborhoods since they remove cars and vans from the delivery process.

> Read more

Walmart is developing a robot that identifies unhappy shoppers Business Insider - Walmart is developing facial recognition technology to detect frustrated or unhappy shoppers. The technology uses video cameras at store checkout lines that monitor customers' facial expressions and movements to try and identify varying levels of dissatisfaction, according to a patent filing. If the system detects an unhappy customer, it will ping employees in other parts of the store and order them to report to a checkout register, in the hopes of alleviating shoppers' distress. Walmart is hoping that the technology will enable stores to respond more efficiently to customer service issues before shoppers have a chance to complain.

> Read more

Retailing in Asia-Pacific

A digital upgrade for Chinese manufacturing

McKinsey- China accounts for about 25 percent of the world’s manufacturing activity, more than any other country on earth. Yet the advantages gained through lower costs of labor and capital, as well as efficiency-driven innovations, are slowly eroding. China’s manufacturing productivity remains only a fifth of that of developed economies. Companies and policy makers are therefore looking to upgrade China’s digital manufacturing capabilities by embracing Industry 4.0, the shorthand widely used for automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies (including cyberphysical systems, the Internet of Things, and cloud computing). The goal is for manufacturers to use real-time data to link product designers, “smart” factories, and distribution centers across the value chain. > Read more_____________________________________________

Alibaba and Marriott International form JV Seeking Alpha- Alibaba Group and Marriott International form a joint venture to work together in China. The

companies say the joint venture will leverage Marriott International's global portfolio of brands and Alibaba's digital retail leadership. The JV will manage Marriott's storefront on Fliggy and also market directly to Alibaba's customer base. "We are proud to join forces with Marriott International – combining our large-scale consumer base, leading-edge technology and consumer insights with their unparalleled hospitality expertise," says Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang.

> Read more_____________________________________________

Alibaba primed for explosive global growth Chain Store Age - Move over Amazon — China's largest online player is looking to take on the world. Now the largest e-commerce company in the world with $430 billion in gross merchandise volume, Alibaba is seeking to become a global company as well with a goal of serving more than 2 billion shoppers, according to a new report by global think tank FGRT (Fung Global Retail & Technology). Since it was founded in 1999 as a business-to-business portal connecting Chinese manufacturers to overseas buyers, overseas buyers,

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JUN/JUL/AUG 2017 RETAIL NEWSAlibaba has expanded to include direct selling to consumers as well as digital entertainment, innovative initiatives and local services. Executive chairman Jack Ma now hopes to expand the company into a global phenomenon that will serve 2 billion customers, host 10 million businesses on its platforms by 2036 and achieve $1 trillion in GMV by fiscal year 2020. >Read more

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JD.com, China’s second largest ecommerce company, made a record-breaking $17.6bn in sales during its annual 6.18 shopping festival The Drum- The sales festival, which takes place during the first 18 days of June each year to celebrate the company’s anniversary on June 18, increased its transaction volumes by more than 50% from the previous year. The mid-year festival’s leap in total sales puts it just behind rival Alibaba’s annual ecommerce extravaganza 11.11 or Singles Day, which last year broke records to collect $17.8bn in sales. JD.com’s 6.18 festival has grown in recent years to become a massive mid-year ecommerce event, with rival retailers also getting involved and offering discounts and savings for their customers. JD said it sold 700 million items, with an increase in categories such as fashion, luxury and maternity products. Sales of fresh food quintupled, according to JD, with orders for 7,664 tonnes of food. Among these were 200 tonnes of beef, 57 million cherries, 10,000 tonnes of baby milk powder, 1 billion nappies and 3.6 tonnes of Haagen-Dazs ice cream.

> Read more_____________________________________________

Chinese shoppers devour online grocery delivery Nikkei Asian Review- Startups use stores as logistics centers to deliver fresh food in under an hour. Chinese grocery delivery services are combining online ordering with bricks-and-mortar hubs and challenging the longstanding dominance of supermarkets, one of the last strongholds of conventional retail. Online grocery is growing fast in China as supermarkets use their stores to fulfill orders and cut delivery times. > Read more

Taking on Netflix in Southeast Asia eMarketer- Subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services in Southeast Asia are spending on local content in the hopes of cornering these emerging markets. This week, Malaysia-based SVOD platform iflix announced it had secured $133 million in a fresh funding round, on top of the $90 million it garnered back in March. The company said the new money would be directed to generating localized content in the 19 markets it now serves in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa, as well as to technology. iflix is up against some stiff competition in Southeast Asia, where it faces off against some other well-funded SVOD services, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Singapore-headquartered Hooq, which counts telecom Singtel among its owners. But in practical terms, it also faces a challenge from free VOD services like YouTube.

> Read more_____________________________________________

What China Reveals About the Future of Shopping BCG- Imagine being in the middle of Times Square, surrounded by flashing lights, fast-talking vendors, street performers, live music, noisy traffic jams, and endless other distractions. Now imagine you’re online and surrounded by the same energetic chaos. Welcome to China’s digital marketplace, where shopping is an adventure—a fire hose of rapidly changing content, offers, products, colors, and choices. For Western shoppers accustomed to simple, transactional online buying, it’s a culture shock. China has more e-commerce activity than any country in the world today. According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics, Chinese consumers spent $750 billion online in 2016—more than the US and the UK combined. That is a jaw-dropping number, but even more interesting is how differently China’s digital marketplace, technology platforms, and online behaviors have evolved compared with those in Western markets. These differences provide a glimpse into the future of shopping—and offer valuable insights for companies around the globe

> Read more

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JUN/JUL/AUG 2017 RETAIL NEWSRetailing in Europe, India, Middle East, Africa

E-commerce shippers welcome cross-border parcels breakthrough Lloyd's Loading List- E-commerce shippers have welcomed what they believe is a major breakthrough in cross-border parcels logistics with a harmonized international labelling system will make it easier for customers to switch or use multiple logistics operators. The online retail association Ecommerce Europe said the recently approved Technical Specification (CEN/TS17073) for Postal services – Interfaces for cross-border parcels, was now ready for publication by all European National Standardization Authorities as of 21 June. Ecommerce Europe said it was “proud to have chaired the work within the European Standardization Committee (CEN) to harmonize postal and supply chain management standards to enable one item label for the delivery of merchandise to end customers”. After achieving consensus throughout the wider postal stakeholders, including courier-, express- and parcel delivery operators in April 2017, the organization said last week’s final publication via CEN was “the final first step to really innovate cross-border parcel delivery services in Europe”, adding: “One of the main causes of difficulties in parcel delivery was closed standards leading to proprietary networks, resulting in unfavorable market conditions for online merchants. That was reflected by various sizes, barcodes, re-labelling procedures, missing traceability of items and related methods to retain senders, by making it very costly to switch or even use more than a few logistics operators.” > Read more _____________________________________________

Europe’s Luxury Retailers May Be Returning to Form NY Times- On London’s Bond Street, home to some of the most expensive retail space in the world, only one store needs to instigate crowd control, the luxury brand of the moment: the Italian fashion and accessories powerhouse Gucci. By midmorning on a wet and windy British midsummer day, burly security guards had erected velvet ropes along one side of the store’s

gilded floor-to-ceiling windows. Inside, a dozen black-clad assistants raced around on lurid magenta carpets, serving the 20-some customers on the ground floor. An orderly line made up mostly of tourists formed outside, many of them looking hungrily through the corner store’s glass panes. It is this sort of slavish devotion from Gucci’s customer base that resulted in the brand’s reporting a 43.4 percent increase in sales in the first six months of the year. That, combined with a sales increase of 28.5 percent from its sister brand YSL, propelled its parent group, Kering, to record growth in revenue and profits for the period. The Kering results came 24 hours after LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world’s largest luxury group by revenue, said strong growth in Europe and Asia had bolstered sales by 12 percent in its second quarter. Profit for the first half of the year also grew at its fastest rate since 2011 >Read more_____________________________________________

Heathrow underground warehousing plan approved Lloyd's Loading List - Plans for a “pioneering” 175,000 sqm (1.9 million sq ft) underground warehouse near Heathrow airport were approved last week, with the ambitious project potentially serving as a blueprint for other underground warehousing and logistics developments in high-value urban land areas. Hounslow Borough Council’s planning committee last Thursday unanimously approved the proposals submitted by the landowner, Formal Investments, to create the largest new recreational park in West London for more than 100 years on top of a 9m-high warehouse on 45 hectares (110 acres) of disused land. The site is less than 1.5 km from Heathrow Airport in London’s Hounslow area at Rectory Farm, Heston, alongside The Parkway (A312) and Bath Road (A4). Work is expected to begin in 2019, with the first area of the park opening in 2020 and the first underground warehouse space is expected to be available for businesses to use from 2022, during a 15-year period of extraction, construction and landscaping activity. >Read more

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JUN/JUL/AUG 2017 RETAIL NEWSIKEA Starts Selling Solar Batteries to U.K. Homeowners Bloomberg- Home retailer IKEA of Sweden AB said it would start selling batteries for rooftop solar panels in the latest sign that once-costly storage technologies are becoming mainstream. The Solar Battery Storage system was announced in partnership with U.K. panel provider Solar Century Holdings Ltd. on Wednesday, providing potential savings on electricity bills by enabling users to use stored solar power when the sun is down and power grid costs are high. The news came after the U.K. government set out last month to help energy consumers and industries save as much as 40 billion pounds ($52 billion) on their electricity bills by opening the grid to battery storage devices. The cost of lithium-ion cells used in batteries have already fallen 73 percent since 2010 and more price declines are expected. “With energy bills already going up 15 percent this year, there’s never been a better time for customers to take back control of their electricity bills and maximize their savings by switching to solar and solar storage,” said Hege Saebjornsen, sustainability manager for IKEA U.K. & Ireland, according to the statement. >Read more_____________________________________________

India top retail investment destination Economic Times- India has overtaken China to top AT Kearney's Global Retail Development Index (GRDI), a study which ranks the top 30 developing markets for retail investment, riding on the back of favorable foreign investment environment, strong economic growth and a consumption boom that are expected to double organized retail and expand online retail by 30 percent a year to reach $48 billion by 2020. India managed to score 71.7 points leaving China in the process which got 70.4 points. Malaysia, Turkey and UAE constitute the top 5 countries in the GRDI. Mobile shopping grew last year by 121 percent in India, 192 percent in China, 151 percent in Vietnam and 87 percent in Nigeria, said the study. According to the study, online retail is projected to grow 30 percent annually and reach $48 billion by 2020, driven by high promotional activity and payment solutions such as cash on delivery. >Read more

Safaricom Sees Amazon as Model for Kenya E-Commerce PlatformBloomberg- India has overtaken China to top AT Kearney's Global Retail Development Index (GRDI), a study which ranks the top 30 developing markets for retail investment, riding on the back of favorable foreign investment environment, strong economic growth and a consumption boom that are expected to double organized retail and expand online retail by 30 percent a year to reach $48 billion by 2020. India managed to score 71.7 points leaving China in the process which got 70.4 points. Malaysia, Turkey and UAE constitute the top 5 countries in the GRDI. Mobile shopping grew last year by 121 percent in India, 192 percent in China, 151 percent in Vietnam and 87 percent in Nigeria, said the study. According to the study, online retail is projected to grow 30 percent annually and reach $48 billion by 2020, driven by high promotional activity and payment solutions such as cash on delivery.

>Read more _____________________________________________

Retail Ecommerce in Germany to Top $65 Billion E-Marketer- Retail ecommerce sales in Germany will rise by nearly $7 billion in 2017 to pass $65 billion, according to eMarketer’s latest forecast of ecommerce activity there. Despite this growth, digital sales will remain a small fraction of total retail sales. Retail ecommerce sales are expected to once again climb by double digits in 2017, swelling a further 11.3%, but annual increases will slow during the remainder of eMarketer’s forecast period, with sales expected to grow just 5.3% in 2021. Even as spending slows, retail ecommerce growth will continue to outpace that of total retail sales in Germany, which are expected to increase just 2.3% this year and eke out only a 0.5% gain four years from now. Consequently, ecommerce’s share of total retail sales will reach 10.0% by 2021, up from this year’s anticipated 7.9% share. Some 49.5 million people in Germany are expected to make at least one digital purchase this year, equivalent to 81.5% of internet users and 68.6% of the population. >Read more

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JUN/JUL/AUG 2017 RETAIL NEWS

Abercrombie expanding in a big way in China Chain Store Age- Abercrombie & Fitch is setting its sights on Chinese teens in a new partnership with China's online giant. Launching Abercrombie on Tmall will greatly expand the teen brand's distribution in a vast country where it currently operates only 10 physical stores (all in mainland China) .and a local site at abercrombie.cn. "Alibaba Group places a strong emphasis on consumer engagement, which aligns with our focus on creating a unique online brand experience for our customers, as well as facilitating a seamless and frictionless shopping experience," said Fran Horowitz, CEO, Abercrombie & Fitch Co.

>Read more _____________________________________________

Brick-and-mortar retail is hot in this specialty segment Chain Store Age- Multi-brand and vertically integrated beauty stores are shaking up the beauty industry — and growing at a rapid rate. With hundreds of new doors opening in various formats, cosmetics specialty and vertically integrated stores, such as Ulta, Sephora, Bluemercury, NYX, Kiko Milano, and e.l.f., have grown at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 19% over the past five years, according to a report by research

and consulting firm Kline. Such stores now account for an estimated 20% of total beauty market sales. Kline's "Beauty Retailing USA: Channel Analysis and Opportunities Report" cites such examples as Bluemercury, which recently opened a digitally enhanced flagship location in New York City, with plans to open 40 more stores by the end of the year, and Sephora, which recently opened its largest store in North America, in New York City, and its smallest location, the 2,000-sq.ft. Sephora Studio, in Boston. "This concept (Sephora Studio) is one step towards creating more curated and digital experiences for consumers in the real world. Alongside digital tools, increasingly demanding younger generations require one-on-one services, including 15-minute facials and 45-minute makeovers that drive consumers seeking a spa-like experience into stores," the report said.

>Read more

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FedEx foregoes holiday surcharges in direct contrast with UPS Supply Chain Dive - FedEx is choosing to waive additional charges for holiday packages this year as it intensified its competition with UPS to gain a bigger share of the e-commerce delivery market, CNBC reported last week. The company will levy increased charges only for oversized (a $25 fee), unauthorized ($300), and those packages requiring additional handling ($3). UPS, meanwhile, announced a peak season surcharge of $0.27 for residential deliveries, commencing on Nov. 19 and lasting through Dec. 2. As of Dec. 17, the fees will rise to at least $0.81 and up to $0.97 for overnight, second or third-day residential deliveries. Additional fees will be applied for oversized packages.

>Read more_____________________________________________

It's Not Just Retail That's Changing. It's Us.Bloomberg- Despite record highs in the markets, bad news about consumers has been relentless: malls are closing; consumers have accumulated too much debt;

Retailing in the Americas

IMAGE: Abercrombie & Fitch

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JUN/JUL/AUG 2017 RETAIL NEWSincomes are stagnant. None of this bodes well for future consumer spending and economic growth. This is the established narrative -- fairly straightforward, based on well-understood data. I suspect it is also wrong. What if something else entirely is occurring? What if many factors are creating an enormous economic shift that we cannot see because we are right in the middle of it? Consider the following: We have been slow to adapt to an ever-increasing set of economic, cultural and technological changes; excepting the young, most of us are not very good at the required adjustments. We increasingly resemble the slowly boiled frog. The word “revolution” is tossed about too easily, but it is appropriate for the pace and scale of changes we see. We can hardly fathom the long-term ramifications of enormous sociological progressions that have been taking place before our eyes. Retailers have been having difficulty understanding these changes, much less responding to them. Perhaps the old economic rules of thumb are no longer as useful as they once were

>Read more_____________________________________________

JDE brings premium coffee brand to Brazil as luxury segment soars Reuters - Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE), the world's second-largest coffee retailer, said on Tuesday it will launch its super premium brand L'OR in Brazil, to take advantage of a luxury goods segment that has grown rapidly despite an economic downturn. JDE, which is second only to Nestlé in global coffee retail with 9.5 percent share of revenue, according to Euromonitor, is aiming to distribute a full portfolio of beans, ground roast, instant and capsules for L'OR coffee in up to 2,000 locations in Brazil. "Coffee sales were not impacted by the recession and the luxury segment continues to grow sharply," said JDE Brazil head Lara Brans during a press conference in Sao Paulo. Brazil's gross domestic product grew in the first quarter after eight consecutive quarters of contraction. JDE expects the market for super premium coffee in Brazil to double in size in three years. The firm sees the segment having growth similar

to that of premium beers and chocolates, whose sales increased close to 20 percent last year, despite Brazil's deepest recession on record, Brans said.

>Read more_____________________________________________

Plano-based At Home has rising stock and stores on the way Dallas News - In a year when the retail industry is forecast to hit a record number of store closings, Plano-based home decor superstore chain At Home is bucking all kinds of perceived ills for store operators. It doesn't sell its merchandise online. Its stores are huge, an average of 120,000 square feet, and it's opening stores, not closing them. It even has a stock price that's higher than its initial public offering price from last August. Most retail IPOs haven't been so lucky, but At Home stock was up 22 percent on Wednesday. It gained $4.02 a share to close at $22.53 and is well above its $15 IPO price. The company reported Wednesday its 12th consecutive increase in total sales of at least 20 percent. It also reported its 13th consecutive increase in same-store sales and met its profit forecast. It's still at the beginning of a growth path that only newer retail chains are experiencing in today's over-stored market. At Home has 132 stores in 31 states and plans to get to 600.

>Read more_____________________________________________

Sears to Sell Kenmore Brand on Amazon Wall Street Journal- Amazon will start selling Sears' Kenmore brand appliances online as part of the e-commerce giant's push to expand into home appliances and furniture, the companies said Thursday. Under the deal, Amazon will own the inventory, which will be shipped from Sears' warehouses, a Sears spokesman said.

>Read more_____________________________________________

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JUN/JUL/AUG 2017 RETAIL NEWSWith its 'endless aisle' Walmart Canada takes another swipe at Amazon Financial Post- Walmart Canada is moving a step further into Amazon’s territory at a most convenient time. As Amazon makes a bold move into bricks-and-mortar fresh grocery retailing through its pending purchase of Whole Foods, the Canadian retailer is increasing the amount of products available on its Walmart.ca website in the next two months by opening it up to an “endless aisle” of third-party Marketplace sellers, making goods from outside brands and small businesses available for sale on its website. “This has been in the works for a

long time,” CEO Lee Tappenden, a 20-year veteran of the retailer who worked in a number of divisions around the globe before taking up the helm of the Canadian unit last June, said in an interview. “We will double the SKUS we have online at the launch date, and by early next year we will have millions of SKUs online.” At the same time, Walmart Canada is launching in-store pickup for the goods it sells online, a model known in the industry as “click and collect.” It’s a draw for customers who want to save the cost of having items delivered to their homes.

>Read more _____________________________________________

CWW Retail Logistics Success Story

CWW: DAVACO Joins Crane Worldwide Logistics

DAVACO, Inc., the North American leader of high-volume programs for retail, restaurant and hospitality brands, has joined with Crane Worldwide Logistics which now can offer retail logistics solutions customized for a client’s distribution and retail store networks. In addition to Crane’s suite of logistics services such as air, contract logistics, compliance and trade, domestic ground, ocean and supply chain consulting, clients will now have access to DAVACO’s services such;

• Equipment, Fixture and Graphic Installation,

• Digital Signage and Technology Upgrades,

• Site and Marketing Surveys,

• Hardline/Softline Merchandising, and

• Turnkey Fixture Management.

These service will be available to clients in the hospitality, restaurant, retail and other closely related industries using a retail format for product distribution to consumers or end-users. The unique and strategic partnership of DAVACO and Crane Worldwide Logistics is designed to provide a more complete and global solution – from purchase order placement to product delivery. For more information on how to design a solution for your company, please contact us:

>Contact Crane Worldwide Logistics_____________________________________________

IMAGE: Davaco, Inc.

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JUN/JUL/AUG 2017 RETAIL NEWS

Bricks and Clicks: refers to retailers who combine their 'offline' brick and mortar presence with their 'online' ecommerce store._____________________________________________Beacons: Bluetooth enabled device that sends information to other Bluetooth enabled devices. Used to tailor marketing notifications or for in-store analytics such as traffic counting, this technology is increasingly being piloted by large and mid-size retailers._____________________________________________Cross Merchandising: The combining of several product categories (usually sold together) into a central location within the store to motivate consumers to increase their initial purchases. This merchandising activity is also used online as products selected by the consumer is often displayed with other commonly purchase items prior to site checkout._____________________________________________Contactless Payment: Powered by NFC (Near Field Communication), this type of payment option allows consumers to pay at the point of sale (POS) location without even touching a terminal using either a credit/debit card or smart phone._____________________________________________EMV: Stands for Europay, Mastercard and Visa and is a global standard for cards equipped with chip + pin. This new technology being used to combat shopping fraud. In the period of April 2015 to April 2016, Mastercard reported a 54% reduction in counterfeit fraud with chip enabled merchants._____________________________________________Endless Aisle: Using a kiosk, ipad or similar customer facing device (often touch screen), retailers create an endless aisle experience by allowing customers in-store digital access to their entire product offering. This allows retailers to streamline in-store inventory planning._____________________________________________Internet of Things: Otherwise know as IoT, this terminology refers to smart objects (e.g. smart phone, smart watch, etc.) that connects to the web sending data back and forth. The IoT shopping experience is increasingly personalized and targeted._____________________________________________Mobile Payments: Similar to contactless payment however consumer does not need to be present at point of purchase for use. This generally refers to payment services operated under financial regulation and performed from or via a mobile device. Apple Pay

and Google Wallet are examples of this payment form._____________________________________________RFID: Radio-Frequency IDentification uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. The tags contain electronically stored information that doesn't require line-of-sight like the traditional bar code does. In retail it is currently used to optimize inventory._____________________________________________Self-service: Consumers select and pay for goods all using the retailer’s kiosk, vending machine or self-checkout POS._____________________________________________Showrooming: Shopping in-store but buying online for a lower price._____________________________________________Webrooming: Shopping online (social media sites like Pinterest or Instagram are great examples) but heading in-store to buy.

Find contact details for your nearest Crane location

1-888-870-2726 | [email protected]

www.craneww.com

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