Customer and retailer perceptions and expectations are not aligned, and many retail stores lack the essential technology to measure and apply shopper data across all channels, says a study released by RetailNext, a provider of retail industry analytics technology.

More than a third (36%) of Christmas "Click & Collect" shoppers in the United Kingdom encountered issues with their orders, according to the second annual JDA/Centiro Christmas Customer Pulse report.

Last year was a good one in the mature car markets, though it was largely offset by a very poor showing for many of the world’s emerging markets. The net result is estimated to be a sub-par 1.5 percent growth in global auto sales – the slowest pace of growth since 2010 – once all numbers are reported and analyzed. However, sales forecasts from IHS Automotive -- part of IHS Inc. and a source of critical information and insight to the global automotive industry -- the outlook for 2016 is likely to be defined by smaller gains, but also less pain than 2015.

Although e-commerce sales accounted for more than $340bn in 2015, a recent Baymard Institute study revealed that about 69 percent of online shopping carts were still left abandoned. Why so many unfulfilled digital sales?

JDA Software Group Inc. has built new planning capabilities into its JDA Dynamic Allocation application for retailers.

E-commerce revenue jumped 21 percent this holiday season over last year as mobile sales continue to climb - 30.4 percent of online sales were placed on mobile devices, according to Custora.

Challenge: The leading global manufacturer of advanced plasma, laser and water jet-cutting systems with worldwide operations and partners, experienced significant growth. Due to this growth, their existing label printing system presented considerable risks to operations. Their system was prone to breaking, ultimately causing significant downtime, with five to ten hours of troubleshooting each week. All of this resulted in customer dissatisfaction, brand integrity issues, and lost revenues, equaling $25,000 – $100,000 worth of productivity each week.

Most retailers are attempting to offer omnichannel shopping experiences for their customers, but few are doing it right (or profitably) so far.