The humble brick-and-mortar store could be at the center of a new wave of tech investment in 2024.

Fresh off industry events such as the Consumer Electronics Show and NRF’s Big Show earlier this month, Nikki Baird, retail analyst and VP of strategy at Aptos, told Retail Brew that “one area where we did see a lot of movement was around the store.”

Echoing this sentiment, Deloitte’s new 2024 US Retail Outlook report predicts stores will be key to improving the omnichannel experience and outlined some key technologies to become more efficient and improve customer loyalty. These include AI-powered data analytics, intelligent tags, and optimized pricing and store design.

The report also highlighted that, despite investments in the omnichannel shopping experience during and after the pandemic, inconsistencies remain that can erode trust and damage customer loyalty—a situation that retailers can’t afford “as consumers consider trade-offs, try out the competition, and hunt for the best deals.”

As Retail Brew reported previously, some retailers are getting proactive about these challenges.

Keep reading here.—AV

That kind of sleep could cost ya. The latest Mobile Consumer Insights report from Vibes revealed that SMS and mobile wallet have a biiiig influence on consumer purchasing decisions. Just look at the numbers:

• 75% of consumers said text messages routinely drive them to purchase.
• 54% said offers made available via mobile wallet drive them to purchase.
• Nearly 60% used a mobile wallet loyalty card when making purchases.

Clearly, mobile channels can give your bottom line a nice boost. But is there too much brand communication with consumers? In short, no.

Vibes found that consumers actually want consistent communication from brands through SMS and mobile wallet. In fact, 60% of consumers surveyed said they prefer to hear from brands via text message at least once a week.

Make the most of your mobile channels. Learn how in Vibes’ Mobile Consumer Insights report.

Pending litigation may do wonders for the campaign coffers of a presidential campaign, but generally, it’s difficult to see a silver lining when facing legal action. That’s why a new survey about how much litigation corporate lawyers say they’re facing will strike many as about as upbeat as The Smiths’ lyrics.

The data comes from law firm Norton Rose Fulbright’s (the other NRF!) annual survey on litigation trends, and includes in-house and general counsel lawyers from sectors including retail. The firm surveyed more than 400 legal professionals in September 2023.

Lawyered up: Asked if they were exposed to more litigation over the past 12 months, lawyers in the retail sector were busiest in two categories:

• Retail attorneys were the most likely to say they faced increased cyber and data protection litigation in the past year (57%), as well as regulatory investigations (35%).

As for the outlook for the next 12 months, call it past as prologue.

Keep reading here.—AAN

Welcome back. We know no one can think about anything but the Super Bowl, but we’ll spare you any discussion of football or you know who, and remind you that commercials for this year’s game sold out faster than expected—so companies had better bring their A game.

If you care about anything else going on this week—particularly in the retail world—read on.

In openings: A new Saks Fifth Avenue women’s store is slated to open in Beverly Hills Thursday, taking over the former Barneys New York store that closed half a decade ago. Situated near Rodeo Drive, the new Saks store will feature the Fifth Avenue Club, where stylists take personal appointments in private suites.

In earnings: McDonald’s reports earnings today, including numbers for the debut of its CosMc’s spinoff concept, which opened in December. The idea behind CosMc’s was seemingly to create a competitor for Starbucks, and the initial signs point toward success in that endeavor.

Pepsico will report earnings on Friday and is coming off a very strong quarter, but there’s a catch.

Keep reading here.—KM

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