At a time in which the U.S. economy was strong and getting stronger, the retail industry was partially focused on reducing friction in retail purchase and improving the customer experience by adopting contactless payment. Industry pundits were speaking of contactless payments and NFC credit-authorization terminals. Contactless payment requires a fraction of the time to consummate […]
Author Archives: Robert Amster
A World of Opportunities at Airports
The Retail Technology Group (RTG) just concluded a brief study of travel retail and technology. We wanted to share these observations with you as the travel world (pardon the pun) has its nuances, challenges, but offers interesting opportunities to improve the passenger experience at all points. We would enjoy receiving your feedback. The recent few […]
A primer for selecting an omni-channel-ready software suite
Evaluating and selecting a software suite for retailers is more complex in this age of omni-channel than in past times. Read our primer, just published in RIS News.
May 2017 Newsletter
From the Principal’s Office Well, our beloved industry has been undergoing a lot churn and turmoil in the three months since the last newsletter. This month we open with a commentary on technology, what’s appropriate, what’s out there pushing the envelope. And then there is the good, the bad, and the ugly of what is […]
RTG Newsletter November
RTG Newsletter Published quarterly by The Retail Technology Group November, 2016 From the Principal’s Office Didn’t notice this before but who gains the most from big eCommerce sales during the traditional holiday shopping season? The delivery companies! They get the business on the way out and on the way back! It is an interesting […]
BB&B: No more coupons? Will it work?
Bed, Bath & Beyond is going to institute an fee-based loyalty program. It will eliminate the ubiquitous coupons for which the retailer has become known. Our commentary on this topic was featured in RetailWire. Loyalty programs, coupons, margin erosion are mine fields that retailers must walk regularly. Trying something new can be as successful as […]
RTG August Newsletter
RTG Newsletter Published quarterly by The Retail Technology Group August, 2016 From the Principal’s Office In this issue, we offer a mixed bag of interesting tidbits going on in our industry. Please enjoy this light reading. Bob Amster […]
Fresh Artisanal Bakery in Starbucks? – Quoted in Forbes.com
Our contribution to RetailWire was quoted in Forbes.com
Technology that enables the store associate
RetailWire started a discussion on the application of technology to enable the store associate as compared to enabling customer self service. Store systems can accomplish both. There is no reason why the emphasis should be on customer self service. Enabling the store associate to assist customers is a very powerful approach. We pay lip service […]
Will Amazon teach retailers how to execute omni-channel right?
We commented on a RetailWire discussion on whether Amazon can excel at omni-channel retail and show others how it’s done. Well, not necessarily. While Amazon has been very successful at ‘pure-play’ commerce, its foray into brick-and-mortar retailing is not guaranteed to be successful. As we all have learned, the two business channels are very different, each […]