The cost of labor has a major impact on a retailer’s bottom line; in fact it consumes 50 to 60 percent of every organization’s operational cost. Through research, Deloitte found organizations with a large hourly workforce — such as retail — are overspending an average of $30 million on labor costs annually. Late last year, Chipotle’s 2018 and 2019 earnings were slashed by Bank of America in part because, “We believe further gains from trimming hours will prove difficult which limits the opportunity to get labor below 27 percent of sales even if traffic recovers.” But, what are the causes of overspend, where are they hiding, and why hasn’t this issue been address before? William Cleary, talent acquisition practice leader and LaborWise Advisor, Deloitte Consulting LLP, took time recently to share his advice on how you can avoid the same fate Chipotle suffered last year by answering questions about hiring best practices, mixing new technologies into the hiring process, and more.
The future of retail belongs to those who reinvent their customer experience. It’s a belief that’s been borne out as true by the events of recent years, especially 2017. Research shows that in 2017, a year many in the media pessimistically dubbed the “retail apocalypse,” companies that embraced the latest technology and evolved with the new era in retail saw unprecedented success. They used a unified commerce approach to reach new levels in their business—showing the that the common wisdom about the direction of retail is not the real story.
New, emerging models indicate that, overall, retail is growing at a decent rate of 3 percent while online shopping is growing by 20 percent. Interestingly enough, online growth isn’t only being attributed to online players, but also to brick and mortar (B&M) retailers which are increasing their online offerings. Ravi Kanniganti, Director Vertical Marketing Strategy, Retail and Hospitality for Zebra Technologies recently took time to talk about how technology is aiding the comeback of B&M stores. Read on to find out what Kanniganti thinks about the present and future status of retail’s digital transformation.
We’ve made another jog around the sun and look forward to what 2018 has in store for our industry. This past year, the expansion and fluidity of e-commerce has continued to challenge traditional retailers to reinvent their strategies of engaging customers.
Business goes through cycles of creative destruction and business evolves. Retailers that are unable to see threats or to strategically understand shifts in the market will not survive. However, those that are nimble—those that understand what is important and act quickly—not only survive but thrive.
The General Data Protection Regulation, or the GDPR, is the European Union’s new regulation on data and cyber-security that will become law in the EU on May 25, 2018. The GDPR will apply to anyone doing business in the EU that handles personal data — it doesn’t matter whether you’re based in the EU or not. If your company processes, stores or transmits personal data belonging to EU residents, you’ll have to comply as well as show evidence you want to comply. The GDPR Advisory Board took time to answer questions about training your workforce with the latest legal requirements, working to manage your data in a compliant way, and other ways to become legally compliant before the May deadline.
Since EMV’s launch in 2015, online fraud attacks have increased 30%. Retailers have been quick to acknowledge the need for a secure online fraud strategy to protect not only consumers, but also revenue and brand reputation. However, merchants are still losing $2.40 for every dollar of fraud incurred.
Fourth quarter, the holiday rush and Black Friday, there are myriad reasons why this time of the year is the most lucrative and—thereby important—season for businesses everywhere. Yet, as companies scramble to keep up with increased demand, they may also close off anything that could jeopardize their ability to earn as much revenue as possible. This is known as the “IT Freeze”.
Everywhere you look, something new and exciting is changing the way people shop, dine and go out. And payments is a huge part of that, from pay at the table to mobile wallets and beyond.
We’re now past the two-year anniversary of EMV, and there is one clear truth: EMV has significantly cut into card-present fraud. But that doesn’t mean that all fraud is gone yet. And recent trends indicate that one type in particular may be on the rise: friendly fraud.
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