Cisco Retail

Retail has one of the highest turnover rates in any industry. The Hay Group reports a median turnover rate of 67 percent for part-time retail employees.[1] I doubt any of us would be too challenged to list the problems driving this high turnover: Retail jobs are considered boring and repetitive, wi…

A few weeks ago at NRF 2017, we spoke with a number of retailers looking to improve the customer experience in their stores. Challenged by today’s online competitors, brick-and-mortar retailers are doing their best to reimagine their stores with new services and technology. However, we also found th…

One of my favorite hobbies is trying out the latest new technologies and services.   I have an Amazon Echo and Google Home (patiently waiting on Cortana from Microsoft).  I ride-share, home-share, and even bike-share. For me, combining my work in digital transformation with retail and other consumer…

Whew! Black Friday and Cyber Monday came and went quickly this year! With these two biggest annual shopping days coming earlier every year and more and more consumers taking advantage of outstanding online shopping opportunities, we decided to host a #CiscoChat just for those of you in the retail in…

There’s always going to be shoppers who love the early morning ritual and adrenaline rush of getting up at 4 AM, driving early morning, and outwitting other shoppers to get brag-to-your-friends deals.  But there are those of us who are so busy with parties, meal planning, and Thanksgiving weekend sp…

As we enter Cybersecurity Awareness month, it’s an appropriate time to closely examine the specific security threats that retailers and hospitality providers face each and every day. In these industries, the overall “attack surface” is becoming dramatically more complex and hackers are more sophisti…

Today’s consumers demand a more mobile, interactive and personalized shopping experience. Research shows that 64 cents of every dollar spent in store is influenced digitally (Deloitte). A few weeks ago, I hosted my first #CiscoChat event on Twitter together with Jeremy Witikko, Practice Advisor at C…

“Over the last five years we have witnessed a radical shift in shopper behavior fueled by the seismic impacts of mobile and social.” That’s how Piers Fawkes, founder of leading edge research firm PSFK introduces his latest report: The Future of Retail. Indeed, the way consumers shop is c…

Earlier this year I had a bit of an “aha” moment. After a long day at Retail’s Big Show #NRF2016 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York 25,000 people wanted to get back to their hotel – all of them, all at once, at 5 o’clock. I looked at the taxi lines where people were queuing and preparing themsel…