Group items tagged

Kohl's has been increasingly focused on omnichannel retailing in the past year, beyond introducing initial buy online pickup in store functionality in May. Earlier this month, Kohl's announced a slew of special omnichannel holiday shopping features. Kohl's also was among the first retailers to offer an Apple Watch app in April. In January, the retailer unveiled its "Greatness Agenda," a broad effort to maximize omnichannel customer engagement that is based on an Oracle Retail platform.

For fast-growing retailer Ulta Beauty, having an omnichannel presence does not just mean selling products across multiple touch-points. As Ulta Beauty executives explained during a presentation at the recent Oracle Industry Connect 2015 conference, the retailer uses an Oracle Retail technology platform to support a range of omnichannel experiences that engage customers at a highly personal level.

The Foschini Group (TFG), a South African based leading retailer of lifestyle products, has selected Oracle Commerce solutions to help grow its retail business and improve the customer experience through Omnichannel initiative

The Foschini Group (TFG), a South African based leading retailer of lifestyle products, has selected Oracle Commerce solutions to help grow its retail business and improve the customer experience through Omnichannel initiative

At the Oracle Retail CrossTalk conference in June, key retail executives gathered in downtown Chicago seemed to agree on one thing: omnichannel gets all the buzz these days, and e-commerce is hot, hot, hot - but the brick-and-mortar store remains as important as ever.

"To increase its omnichannel capabilities even further, John Lewis will also invest in a new merchandise management system from Oracle by 2017. This will replace its legacy solution and work across all of the retailer's stores and facilities."

Kohl's previously announced that it will relaunch Kohls.com on an e-commerce platform from Oracle Corp. this summer. It will also test a mobile payment acceptance technology in stores later this year. In 2012, Kohl's generated $1.43 billion in sales on the web, up 41.6% from $1.01 billion in 2011. It is No. 28 in Internet Retailer's Top 500 Guide. "We have made significant investments in our IT and omnichannel initiatives to ensure we have the platforms, technology and tools to allow customers to shop when they want and from where they want," Mansell says.

"Transformation is critical to compete in an omnichannel market," said Mike Hazel, CIO at Academy Sports + Outdoors. "Academy Sports + Outdoors is expanding rapidly, and with that growth comes the need for a system that is scalable and can grow with us. Oracle Retail provides us with a foundation for growth and an integration strategy."

"Transformation is critical to compete in an omnichannel market," said Mike Hazel, CIO at Academy Sports + Outdoors. "Academy Sports + Outdoors is expanding rapidly, and with that growth comes the need for a system that is scalable and can grow with us. Oracle Retail provides us with a foundation for growth and an integration strategy."

In this exclusive interview, Janet Schalk, EVP and CIO of Kohl's, shares insights into the retailer's latest technology implementations related to an overall omnichannel focus.

(Scroll to article just below ULTA feature:) Attendees at the annual Oracle event were treated to a number of presentations by retail executives, from companies including: Nordstrom, The Gap, John Lewis, adidas, Academy Sports, Chico's, Lilly Pulitzer and more. Recurring themes for sessions centered around omnichannel strategies and improving the customer experience with comprehensive technology solutions. During keynote sessions, Oracle executives talked about the importance of delivering Commerce Anywhere capabilities to retailers. Mike Webster, SVP and GM, Oracle Retail, noted: "You don't have a big data problem, you have a small insight problem…Big Science is the answer." Jill Puleri, Oracle's new SVP and GM, Global Retail Business Unit, discussed ways retailers are using mobile differently to address five elements of disruption: mobility, data breaches, same-day delivery, wearables and weather.

As part of a technology upgrade that includes a migration to Oracle's MICROS Xstore (now Oracle Retail Xstore), Lids rolled out Oracle's MICROS Retail Locate (now Oracle Retail Order Broker Cloud Service), enabling the retailer to nearly double the number of product SKUs available for sale online by exposing inventory in all Lids stores as well as throughout its supply chain. The specialty retailer's omnichannel inventory increases available SKUs while helping customers and associates easily find team-specific items online and in-store.

"For retailers to deliver the omnichannel experience customers are demanding, they must effectively manage operational and customer data across channels," says Mike Webster, senior vice president and general manager, Oracle Retail.

Oracle vp of retail strategy Andrea Vandome: A new generation of mobile analytics is at the forefront of change this year. We are emerging from three consecutive years in which consumers adopted smartphones in record numbers and used them to bridge desktop and in-store shopping. Retailers are moving quickly catch up. Recent advances in business intelligence, among them the ability to tap multiple sources and deliver to a mobile device in real-time, place line managers on more equal footing and equip them to better engage the omnichannel shopper.

The retailer is working with software giant Oracle on what Mr. Sadove called "a substantial multiyear transformation of an investment in systems and technology." Project Evolution will deliver new merchandising, finance and human resources systems and capabilities and … supply us with the modern technology platform to support omnichannel for the future," Mr. Sadove said on a conference call

Oracle Retail GM Jill Puleri, on how retailers are using stores to redefine the shopping experience

Hosted cloud computing is becoming an increasingly hot market. Amazon Web Services (AWS), which recently launched a major Indian initiative in Alibaba's backyard, maintains a dominant position. Oracle has released a slew of more than 24 new additions to the Oracle Cloud Platform. Also Google is entering a new partnership that will base the next generation of JDA Software Group of cloud-based omnichannel and supply chain solutions on the public Google Cloud Platform.

"Karen Katz , chief executive officer and president of Neiman Marcus Group, told a packed audience at the Oracle Industry Connect conference in Boston yesterday that the specialty retailer is putting a big focus - and a lot of money - into its technology infrastructure."

The retail industry hasn't traditionally given technology top priority, but with consumers' expectation of "anything, anywhere, anytime I want it," tech expertise has become a competitive focus for the industry's big players. Oracle Industry Connect, a two-day conference held March 25 and 26 here, brought together roughly 240 retail executives to network and share system implementation case histories as they chase omnichannel selling. Today, more than half of shoppers - 58 percent - rank product availability as more important than price, according to an Oracle study of 4,500 consumers worldwide. Mark Webster, senior vice president and general manager of Oracle's retail practice, said Amazon sold 426 items a second on Cyber Monday. "If you don't think consumers are taking advantage of new access points [to shop], then you are misguided."

Oracle Retail 14.1, which the company showed off at the National Retail Federation conference, allows omnichannel commerce, by which retailers offer a seamless shopping experience across mobile devices, online, and stores.

By replacing a third-party search service with Oracle Commerce's integrated search and navigation, Ultra dramatically improved site navigation and search results. The updated site lets consumers easily browse categories and find specific products among the retailer's more than 20,000 items in cosmetics, fragrance, hair care, skincare, body and bath products, and salon styling tools.

Software giant Oracle has made its first move into in-store retail hardware, unveiling a new PoS for an omnichannel world at the NRF Big Show in New York. Aimed at the retail and hospitality industry, a version running software for grocery stores is currently at soft launch.