Retail industry trends for 2021

Understanding customer data has been at the core of 2020’s challenges and will remain a critical need for 2021 and beyond. By Tom Bianculli, chief technology officer of Zebra Technologies What have been the top three biggest developments in our industry in 2020?...

The benefits of an agile PoS enablement

There is little doubt that the rapidly evolving point-of-sale (PoS) landscape and the growing number of digital applications and mobile payment methods is exciting for many retailers. However, it is also challenging, as the PoS environment must be made more agile and...

Leroy Merlin banks on hybrid model to drive future growth

International retailer Leroy Merlin, with a presence in 15 countries, has invested in a cloud-based customer experience platform designed to complement its physical retail stores. Leroy Merlin executive, Dmitriy Anderson, says the future of retailing will be driven by...

The perils of legacy software for retailers adopting digital journeys

In the devastating wake of the global pandemic, companies across industries are grappling with the economic impact – and few more so than the embattled retail sector. By Allan Dickson, independent chairman at redPanda Software Without a doubt, ‘making the...

Move over Black Friday, here comes Green Monday

Black Friday, Cyber Monday and now Green Monday. Retailers would be forgiven for becoming a little breathless with all the shopping events that fall just weeks before the traditional rush of the festive season. But, with some timely action, these shopping holidays can...

Customer experience remains key in e-commerce

It is now months into the Covid-19 pandemic and South African consumers are adapting their shopping behaviour with patterns starting to emerge. Locally, we saw a sudden shift to online shopping, in particular the fresh food category at the beginning of lockdown. By...