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"The rules are being rewritten," says Mike Webster, senior vice president and general manager of Oracle Retail. "At the core, it's all about how do retailers provide their customers with a seamless experience regardless of channel?" That's an excellent question-in fact, it's an urgent question for retail execs today.

"The rules are being rewritten," says Mike Webster, senior vice president and general manager of Oracle Retail. "At the core, it's all about how do retailers provide their customers with a seamless experience regardless of channel?" That's an excellent question-in fact, it's an urgent question for retail execs today.

"Amazon is putting enormous pressure on retailers to up their game," said David Dorf, senior director of technology strategy for Oracle Retail. Indeed, the survival of many retailers with actual, brick-and-mortar businesses rests on their ability to stanch showrooming," the rampant consumer practice of scouting out goods at the mall before buying them online at a better price.

"Amazon is putting enormous pressure on retailers to up their game," said David Dorf, senior director of technology strategy for Oracle Retail. Indeed, the survival of many retailers with actual, brick-and-mortar businesses rests on their ability to stanch showrooming," the rampant consumer practice of scouting out goods at the mall before buying them online at a better price.

Retailers are also benefiting from more pervasive access to real-time information. Data stored in superfast in-memory computer systems allows store managers to generate reports in real time instead of at the end of a day or week, and new data visualization technologies make that data more comprehensible and actionable. "Now this is on everyone's iPhone or iPad in real time," says Dorf. "The speed at which technology allows us to get access to information is changing things dramatically."

Welch pointed out the importance of retail commerce to the US economy, referring to it as "a big common interest." It's also a labor-intensive one. "I'm amazed at how hard retail is," he said. Therefore, the federal government should do all it can to protect privacy and online data while still "serving entrepreneurs," he asserted.

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.

If customers aren't confident the item is in stock or available for delivery by a certain date, a single click will take them to a competitor. How can any retailer win under these circumstances?

If customers aren't confident the item is in stock or available for delivery by a certain date, a single click will take them to a competitor. How can any retailer win under these circumstances?