Nov 23, 2018 By Rob Garf

Thanksgiving Holiday Flash Report: Shoppers Go Online Early, Go Mobile, Go Social as Digital Revenue Grows 18%

Thanksgiving weekend shopping used to be about waiting outside stores for Black Friday stampedes to begin. This year, shoppers didn't wait — they shopped online all week, with purchases peaking right after Thanksgiving dinner, Salesforce data shows. For the first time, mobile dominated online... Read More

Holiday Readiness, Retail, Retail Insights, Commerce Cloud, Commerce, Marketing Cloud, Service Cloud

Nov 06, 2018 By Rob Garf

Salesforce Predicts Retail in 2019

Welcome to our fourth annual Salesforce Predicts series, where our global subject matter experts predict where retail and commerce are headed in 2019. Despite some pockets of softness, underlying retail growth is strong. In fact, it’s rocking, having notched total year-over-year growth every... Read More

Commerce, Retail

Oct 04, 2018 By Rob Garf

It’s Critical to Be Wherever Consumers Are — Especially Brick and Mortar

I spent my formative years — both in childhood and the early days of my career — in brick-and-mortar stores. I’m clearly passionate, if not a bit biased, about the role that physical stores play in attracting both customer attention and dollars. With 90% of retail revenue still coming from stores,... Read More

Commerce, Retail, Retail Insights, Ecommerce, Unified Commerce

Jul 25, 2018 By Rob Garf

4 Trends Showing How Retailers Rode the Prime Day 2018 Wave

Shoppers across the U.S. are now eagerly awaiting packages purchased on "Prime Day," Amazon's self-made, 36-hour shopping holiday that started at 3:00 PM EST on July 16 and ran straight through the stroke of midnight on July 17. We made a few predictions and now are ready to follow-up... Read More

Retail Insights, Retail, Commerce, Customer Service

Jul 19, 2018 By Rob Garf

Retailers Ride the Prime Day Wave

Over the next few days, shoppers across the US will eagerly await packages as a result of Prime Day, Amazon’s manufactured shopping holiday that ran for 36 hours from 3:00 PM EST on July 16 to July 17. We follow up our predictions from last week with the following analysis.... Read More

Commerce, Retail Insights, Shopper Experience

Jul 13, 2018 By Rob Garf

Just Another (Prime) Day — What Retail Can Expect from Amazon’s 2018 ‘Day’ of Deals

What you can expect from Amazon Prime Day 2018: This manufactured holiday will bring riches not only to Amazon, but also for other brands willing and prepared to ride the wave.... Read More

Commerce, Retail Insights, Shopper Experience

Jun 27, 2018 By Rob Garf

Does Retail’s Race to the Bottom Have a Floor?

Endless markdowns. Promo fatigue. Store closures. Bankruptcies. Is the race to the bottom in retail finally nearing an end?... Read More

Commerce, Shopper Experience, Retail Insights

Apr 12, 2018 By Rob Garf

The Reality of Customer Experience: Overpromised and Underdelivered

The concept of ‘consumer experience’ has been such a hot topic of conversation for so long, you’d think that every brand is prioritizing customer-centricity and succeeding by delivering superior experiences. But you’d be wrong. In today’s shopping climate, retailers and brand leaders seem to... Read More

Marketing, Marketing Cloud, Retail

Apr 09, 2018 By Rob Garf

The Reality of Customer Experience: Overpromised and Underdelivered

The concept of ‘consumer experience’ has been such a hot topic of conversation for so long, you’d think that every brand is prioritizing customer-centricity and succeeding by delivering superior experiences. But you’d be wrong.... Read More

Commerce, Retail Insights, Shopper Experience, Thought Leadership