Hasbrouck Heights, NJ, July 7, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- To help retailers prepare for the competitive and challenging 2014 holiday season, Retail TouchPoints, the industry's go-to source for customer engagement strategies, has released the 2014 Holiday Guide, featuring insights from a number of leading industry experts, case studies, and a variety of tips and tactics.
"While industry experts are predicting an uptick in holiday sales this year, retailers are again contending with a compressed calendar," said Debbie Hauss, Editor-In-Chief of Retail TouchPoints. "Focused on delivering inventory, promotions and offers consistently across channels, merchants also must be acutely aware of data security and privacy concerns."
A quick look at the report includes the following:
Despite a shortened shopping season and cold weather that kept many shoppers away from stores in 2013, U.S. retailers saw a 2.7% increase in overall sales during the 2013 holiday season, according to ShopperTrak. "Based upon the current economy, I would expect Christmas spending [in 2014] to be up in the 3.5% range," predicted Jerry Sheldon, VP of Technology for IHL Services.
To boost sales, retailers are moving their marketing plans up on the calendar, as more shoppers flock to stores on Thanksgiving Day. "Last year it was demonstrated that the sanctity of Thanksgiving is probably gone as large numbers of shoppers headed out earlier than ever," Sheldon noted. "Black Friday will continue to lose its meaning as retailers will seek to lure away shoppers' dollars earlier and earlier."
This year's guide is focusing on 12 different topic areas, including:
1. Advocacy Marketing
2. E-Commerce
3. Inventory/RFID
4. Mobile Checkout
5. Mobile Commerce
6. Omnichannel
7. Payment
8. Personalization
9. Pricing
10.Shipping
11.Social Commerce
12.Workforce Management
To download a complimentary copy of the full report, please click here or contact Debbie Hauss, Debbie@retailtouchpoints.com, for interview opportunities.
About Retail TouchPoints
Retail TouchPoints is an online publishing network for retail executives, with content focused on optimizing the customer experience across all channels. The Retail TouchPoints network is comprised of a weekly newsletter, category-specific blogs, special reports, web seminars, exclusive benchmark research, and a content-rich web site featuring daily news updates and multi-media interviews at www.retailtouchpoints.com. The Retail TouchPoints team also interacts with social media communities via Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.