With change happening at an accelerating rate, those who can quickly adapt can thrive.
We discuss the technologies and trends, from supply chain software to in-store AR technology, that are helping today's brick-and-mortar retailers stay competitive as e-commerce continues to grow.
Foot Locker is closing 110 stores, Abercrombie & Fitch is closing 60 stores, department store Bon-Ton is possibly headed toward liquidation, and Toys R’ Us has shut down completely.
And that’s just since February.
The retail apocalypse has claimed many victims, with almost 7,000 stores closing in the US in 2017. E-commerce sales growth is pulling ahead of total retail sales (17% vs. 6% for year-over-year in Q4’17), and Amazon is controlling upwards of 40% of online sales in the US, according to the US Department of Commerce and Slice Intelligence, respectively.
In the face of such threats, traditional retail as we have known it for decades is becoming unviable.
Radio Shack, Sports Authority, and Toys R’ Us — all once powerful retailers — have succumbed to pressure from e-commerce, changing consumer preferences, and mounting debt from post-financial crisis leveraged buyouts.
