Recent Posts
Deals•Feb 2, 2026
Creative Realities Acquires Cineplex Digital Media
Creative Realities, a digital marketing technology firm, announced the acquisition of Cineplex Digital Media during NRF 2026. The deal expands Creative Realities' adtech capabilities and supports its new Digital Drive‑Thru 2.0 offering. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Retail Customer Experience
News•Jan 22, 2026
Birdzi Launches Journey for Grocers, Retailers Aiming to Drive Personalization
Birdzi introduced Journey, a platform that lets grocers and retailers push real‑time, behavior‑driven offers to shoppers. The solution fuses retailer shopper data with Birdzi’s personalization engine, automating promotion delivery and enabling rapid implementation. It also opens a data‑sharing channel for...
By Retail Customer Experience
News•Jan 22, 2026
The Art of Retail Storytelling: Elevating Hospitality Through Meaningful Experiences
Retail storytelling is reshaping hospitality by turning spaces and services into emotionally resonant experiences. A cohesive brand narrative—anchored in a clear point of view, reinforced through design, and subtly supported by technology—creates lasting guest memories and drives repeat visits. The...
By Retail Customer Experience
News•Jan 21, 2026
Consumer Text-Based Purchases on the Rise
In 2025, 65% of consumers completed purchases through brand text messages, marking the first time text messaging outpaced email for promotional offers in Vibes’ nine‑year study. The report also found 81% of respondents view RCS messaging as superior to SMS,...
By Retail Customer Experience
News•Jan 20, 2026
Tariff Timeline: White House Actions, Declarations, Reversals
Since Trump’s second inauguration in January 2025, the White House has issued a cascade of tariff announcements, pauses, and reversals affecting North America, China, the EU, and dozens of other partners. Tariffs have ranged from 10 % to over 150 %, prompting...
By Retail Customer Experience
News•Jan 16, 2026
WHSmith North America Media Network Taps ISM for Retail Media Network
WHSmith North America Media Network has teamed with In‑Store Marketplace (ISM) to launch a retail media network across U.S. airports. The collaboration merges more than 700 digital screens and audio assets into a single programmatic ecosystem, leveraging Mood Media’s hardware...
By Retail Customer Experience
News•Jan 14, 2026
Nearly Half of Consumers Would Choose Dental Visit than Wait a Week for Refund
TodayPay’s survey of 14,000 U.S. shoppers finds 44% would rather schedule a dental appointment than wait a week for a refund. An overwhelming 94% say an instant‑refund guarantee makes them more likely to complete a purchase, while 92% would shop...
By Retail Customer Experience
Deals•Jan 14, 2026
OptConnect Acquires DPL Wireless to Boost AI-Driven ATM Connectivity
OptConnect, a wireless connectivity solutions provider, announced the acquisition of DPL Wireless, a cellular connectivity and IoT company for ATMs. The deal will merge OptConnect's ConnectIQ platform with DPL's Hercules AI platform, creating an AI connectivity platform for ATMs and...
Retail Customer Experience
News•Jan 13, 2026
Home Depot Launches Creator Portal
Home Depot unveiled the Home Depot Creator Portal, a centralized hub that links digital content creators with the retailer’s DIY and décor ecosystem. The platform offers creators campaign opportunities, training resources, product catalogs, and storefront capabilities to monetize their home‑improvement...
By Retail Customer Experience
News•Jan 13, 2026
How to Make Every Shopping Experience Memorable
Retailers must move beyond product focus to craft memorable, emotion‑driven shopping journeys across both physical and digital channels. Consumers now expect seamless integration of in‑store tactile experiences with online interactivity such as virtual try‑ons and live demos. Personalized gestures, loyalty...
By Retail Customer Experience
News•Jan 12, 2026
Luxury Vintage Retailer Deploys Digital Wave Platform for Systems Upgrade
What Goes Around Comes Around, a luxury vintage retailer, is rolling out Digital Wave Technology's ONE platform as part of a digital modernization push. The initiative replaces legacy product information management, financial planning, and supply allocation systems with an AI‑native...
By Retail Customer Experience
News•Jan 12, 2026
Hanna Andersson Hires Kacey Sharrett as Chief Digital Officer
Hanna Andersson announced the appointment of Kacey Sharrett as chief digital officer. Sharrett will steer the brand’s digital ecosystem and customer experience. She arrives with nearly two decades of leadership in e‑commerce, direct‑to‑consumer, and performance‑marketing, most recently heading GoPro’s global DTC...
By Retail Customer Experience
News•Jan 9, 2026
Creative Realities Launches Digital Drive-Thru 2.0
Creative Realities unveiled Digital Drive‑Thru 2.0, a modular digital menu‑board platform designed to streamline installation, maintenance, and scaling for quick‑service restaurants and other drive‑thru venues. The system reduces installation complexity, complies with municipal regulations, and lets operators add or adjust components...
By Retail Customer Experience
News•Jan 7, 2026
1800Flowers.com Appoints Alexander Zelikovsky as CIO
1800Flowers.com announced Alexander Zelikovsky as its new chief information officer, a move designed to accelerate the retailer’s digital transformation agenda. Reporting directly to CEO Adolfo Villagomez, Zelikovsky will steer enterprise‑wide technology strategy, covering applications, data architecture, cybersecurity, and business intelligence....
By Retail Customer Experience
News•Jan 6, 2026
Top Read Retail CX Stories in 2025: Consumer Behavior, AI Ethics, Brand Tech Deployments
RetailCustomerExperience.com’s 2025 most‑read CX stories highlighted a wave of technology‑driven initiatives across the sector. Walmart pushed drone delivery, GenAI assistants and digital shelves, while Verizon rolled out AI‑powered personalization across every customer touchpoint. Brands such as The North Face, Oh Polly...
By Retail Customer Experience
News•Jan 5, 2026
Shoppers Want Flexible Delivery over Free Shipping
The 2025 Delivery Experience Study by Bringg reveals that shoppers now prioritize a reliable, flexible delivery experience over free shipping. Seventy‑one percent of consumers think about delivery before checkout, and 72% consider on‑time arrival essential. Late or inflexible deliveries drive...
By Retail Customer Experience
News•Jan 5, 2026
J.Jill Names Viv Rettke as Chief Growth Officer
J.Jill has appointed Viv Rettke as its first chief growth officer, a newly created role aimed at accelerating the brand’s expansion. Rettke brings growth expertise from Cole Haan, Reebok and Kraft Heinz, where she led major brand transformations. She will...
By Retail Customer Experience
News•Jan 2, 2026
What Main Street Can Teach Silicon Valley About Building Loyalty
Andrew Helms, SumUp’s U.S. CEO, argues that Silicon Valley’s focus on rapid growth overlooks the loyalty built through personal trust on Main Street. He highlights how small‑business owners create lasting relationships by remembering customers, offering fair pricing, and showing genuine...
By Retail Customer Experience
News•Dec 30, 2025
Drugstore Chain Rossmann Taps Diebold Nixdorf for Expansion
European drugstore giant Rossmann has selected its long‑time technology partner Diebold Nixdorf to drive its expansion into Switzerland. The agreement adds comprehensive managed services through Diebold Nixdorf’s eServices portal and new retail hardware, including self‑checkout and POS systems, building on a model...
By Retail Customer Experience
News•Dec 29, 2025
The True Cost of Device Downtime: How Mobile Failures Damage Customer Loyalty
Retail device downtime is eroding customer loyalty, with 60% of shoppers ready to switch brands after a single bad experience. Half of in‑store mobile endpoints run outdated operating systems, and a quarter cannot be upgraded, exposing retailers to freezes, ransomware...
By Retail Customer Experience
News•Dec 26, 2025
7 Steps Retail Leaders Can Take to Protect Customer Experience During Peak Seasons
Retail leaders face intense pressure during holiday and promotional spikes, requiring precise demand forecasting and flexible staffing. Updating knowledge bases, creating real‑time command centers, and stress‑testing systems ensure agents can respond quickly and accurately. Automation—through AI routing, chatbots, and CRM...
By Retail Customer Experience
News•Dec 22, 2025
Holiday Shoppers Tapping Mobile Device to Buy, Desktop for Returns
Adobe’s holiday shopping data shows mobile devices accounted for 52.4% of online spend between Nov 1 and Dec 12, while desktops handled the majority of returns. Overall returns fell 2.5% YoY, but are projected to jump 25‑35% after Christmas. Consumers have already...
By Retail Customer Experience
News•Dec 22, 2025
Goodwill Central Texas Pilots ReNu to Transform Operations, Employee Experience
Goodwill Central Texas has rolled out ReNu, an in‑house production platform that replaces its legacy POS system and adds AI‑driven dynamic pricing and channel optimization. The pilot, active in six stores, automates item valuation and directs inventory to the most...
By Retail Customer Experience
News•Dec 22, 2025
Why Calls Still Matter in Retail
Retail businesses increasingly rely on phone calls to convert leads and gather actionable data. Implementing IVR, AI call agents, call‑tracking analytics, and predictive modeling creates a data‑driven, omnichannel experience that shortens queues, personalizes interactions, and filters low‑quality calls. Coordinating these...
By Retail Customer Experience