As new mobile and social opportunities join traditional sales channels, the e-commerce and marketing teams have quickly jumped on board, sometimes even before formal business plans were in place. They saw the potential in new shoppers and new technologies. And compared to merchandisers and planners, they were unencumbered from carrying the bulk of the enterprise on their backs. However, getting merchandisers and planners to shift to new methods is the key to success in omni-nomics. Here’s how.

Two megatrends emerged from the just released RIS/Gartner Retail Tech Trends Study that will have a major impact on retailers. They are sharp growth in retail IT budgets, which is higher this year than other industries tracked by Gartner, and the rising influence of marketing on IT spending, which is driving big investments in mobile, social and cross-channel technologies. Find out about these and other key trends in the industry’s leading IT study.

The end game of predictive analytics in retail is to know shopper buying patterns before anyone else knows them. But does this include knowing personal details that are intimate and sensitive? Or, specifically, in the case of Target, does it mean knowing a teen is pregnant before the teen’s father knows? This is an extreme proof of concept, but the point is clear: advanced analytical tools in the hands of skilled executives can be incredibly powerful.

A few years ago I wrote a blog called “10 Retailers That Shook the World” to single out the most significant pioneers in retailing. I did a ton of research and got lots of feedback, and although it was well-received I had a nagging feeling it needed revising. So, with the benefit of additional experience and insight I revisited the list and made some changes. See if you agree.

Are you ready for the post-tablet retail world? It will arrive by the end of the year. The sprint to deploy tablets is rolling out at a faster rate in retail than any other technology, including the Internet. Terms like game-changer, paradigm shift and tipping point are too over used in the technology world to be meaningful. But tablets are the real deal. Here’s why.

Last week's blog about Amazon hijacking customers not only struck a chord with readers, but it amazingly dovetailed with news from JCPenney and Target that hit the headlines on the same day. JCPenney launched a bold multi-prong pricing strategy simultaneously with Target launching an initiative to combat "showrooming," a trend where shoppers visit stores to look at products and use digital tools to purchase them from online retailers. Here's how it all ties together. 

By the end of 2012 Amazon revenue will top $60 billion and it won’t stop there. In 2015, according to Morgan Stanley, it will top the $100 billion mark. Retailers know a great deal of Amazon’s revenue is coming from customers who visit their websites or stores before completing the purchase from Amazon. So, essentially, Amazon is hijacking your customers. Here’s what you can do to fight back.

Whenever you gather the smartest and most successful retail executives in one location you  pick up some nuggets of useful information that are so cool you can’t get them out of your head. I did a lot of listening to some brilliant people for four days and gathered the best of what I heard. Here are the good, the great and funniest statements I heard at NRF.

ARTS (Association for Retail Technology Standards) sets a high standard for white papers. Last year it released the comprehensive Mobile Retailing Blueprint. Today, it is releasing the Social Retailing Blueprint. I received an early copy of the 144-page report and pulled out 10 social retailing tactics to help retailers optimize their go-to-market strategies in the emerging field of social retailing.

The recent naming of the top and bottom 10 retail companies to work for has been a phenomenon among RIS readers and Web visitors, setting records for click-throughs and generating incredible readership interest. But does judging a company by how it treats employees, customers and the planet really mean it is a good or bad company? Or is this squishy logic? I think it most definitely matters, and here’s why.