E-Commerce
E-commerce, a growing extension of marketing automation and sales automation, drives sales by closing the deal through automated payments via e-commerce platforms. Here, find the latest news and strategies for deploying e-commerce business.
Top Stories
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Guest Post
17 Jan 2025
Adopt passkeys over passwords to improve UX, drive revenue
Password use leads to higher UX friction and lost sales because customers want a smoother sign-in experience. Passkeys can simplify authentication and improve UX. Continue Reading
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News
16 Jan 2025
Generative AI ushers in a new era for retail tech
Retail stores of the future will be powered by generative AI, but truly frictionless shopping experiences envisioned by tech vendors may be a long way off. Continue Reading
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News
26 Aug 2022
Cloud e-commerce revives product information management tech
E-commerce managers have dusted off a tech oldie: the PIM system, 1990s tech that predates the internet's mass adoption. The new tools, of course, are way cooler. Continue Reading
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Tip
24 Aug 2022
Top 10 e-commerce software companies
E-commerce platforms can help organizations design and operate engaging online shops. Companies like SAP have offerings for large enterprises, whereas GoDaddy and Wix target SMBs. Continue Reading
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Tip
16 Aug 2022
Key steps for an e-commerce planning process
E-commerce can help organizations grow their business online, but the venture brings the most success if planned properly. These steps can start organizations on the right path. Continue Reading
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News
10 Aug 2022
Salesforce adds headless commerce capabilities
Salesforce enables 'composable commerce' -- headless e-commerce, where users bring their own interface designs -- for large brick-and-mortar retailers and online-only sellers. Continue Reading
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News
25 Jul 2022
SAP green CX tech aids sustainable retail, B2B sales
SAP users can tackle sustainable e-commerce -- and be accountable to customers wary of 'greenwashing' -- with a bundle of Qualtrics, CDP, e-commerce and other tech tools. Continue Reading
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News
29 Jun 2022
Salesforce users get more low-code automation, including RPA
Salesforce integrates MuleSoft RPA and Composer with Salesforce Flow, which avails low-code process automation and bot creation to line-of-business users. Continue Reading
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Answer
28 Jun 2022
How do you know when you've outgrown your e-commerce platform?
When an e-commerce system's native content management capabilities no longer meet business needs, companies should consider integrating it with a content management system. Continue Reading
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Answer
08 Jun 2022
What IT skills are required for e-commerce?
While e-commerce involves a lot of marketing and sales, it also requires IT expertise to keep platforms running. Explore seven technical skills needed for e-commerce platforms. Continue Reading
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News
08 Jun 2022
Salesforce moves forward with controversial NFT Cloud pilot
Salesforce integrates with TikTok and adds marketing and e-commerce features to its platform -- including NFT Cloud, which sparked controversy earlier this year. Continue Reading
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News
06 May 2022
Square exec discusses metaverse, electronic payment trends
Millions of physical and online merchants use Square's payment processing services. We discuss retail tech trends with Roshan Jhunja, Square head of retail. Continue Reading
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Definition
05 May 2022
clickstream data (clickstream analytics)
Clickstream data and clickstream analytics are the processes involved in collecting, analyzing and reporting aggregate data about which pages a website visitor visits -- and in what order. Continue Reading
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News
02 May 2022
Metaverse shopping 101, from Forever 21's Roblox store creator
The founder of the agency behind Forever 21's Shop City explains what it is -- and what it isn't -- and what retailing in the metaverse will eventually look like. Continue Reading
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News
25 Apr 2022
AI virtual assistant grooms skier experience at Snowbird
Using an AI-powered chatbot designed with the friendly likenesses of avalanche dogs, the famed Utah ski resort is able to quickly respond to customers' questions. Continue Reading
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News
22 Apr 2022
Retailer: Informed humans still the hottest e-commerce trend
Sweetwater, the largest online audio gear and musical instrument retailer, uses AI to augment -- not replace -- its agents. Mike Clem, chief growth officer, explains why. Continue Reading
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News
30 Mar 2022
New Google Cloud retail tool targets search abandonment
The new tool is aimed at providing better results for online shoppers. It understands user intent and context, provides results for broad inquiries, and includes semantic search. Continue Reading
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News
29 Mar 2022
It's coming: The wild world of metaverse shopping
Gap and PacSun lead the way in NFT experiments, as retailers and analysts ponder the revenue potential of selling virtual products in the metaverse. Continue Reading
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News
11 Jan 2022
Instacart, McDonald's, Target share digital marketing strategies
Customer experience leaders discuss strategies to accommodate customers who want contactless shopping, those who want in-person sales, and everything in between. Continue Reading
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News
29 Nov 2021
Technology drives holiday shopping for retail, e-commerce
Black Friday e-commerce sales maintained 2020 gains. Retail traffic is up but hasn't rebounded to pre-pandemic levels. Technology, supply chain, COVID-19 variants all factors. Continue Reading
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News
09 Nov 2021
Real Madrid teams up with Adobe to enhance global fan experience
Real Madrid is using Adobe’s Experience Cloud software to better connect with its fans in Spain and worldwide Continue Reading
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News
26 Oct 2021
Acquia adds CDP, digital experience platform features
Analyst: Latest features added to Acquia's marketing, commerce and customer data platform offerings show the company is serious about adding enterprise users. Continue Reading
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News
15 Oct 2021
Shopify opens e-commerce platform to enterprise ERP vendors
Shopify's new Global ERP Program takes steps to attract larger enterprises, but the transition won't be easy, as large ERP systems are far more complex than those of Shopify's SMB base. Continue Reading
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Definition
30 Sep 2021
Secure Electronic Transaction (SET)
Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) is a system and electronic protocol to ensure the integrity and security of transactions conducted over the internet. Continue Reading
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News
09 Sep 2021
Infosys releases headless commerce services bundle
Infosys breaks down Skava, an e-commerce startup it acquired in 2015, into e-commerce, marketing and merchandising microservices, and renames it Equinox. Continue Reading
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News
10 Aug 2021
Adobe, Salesforce expand health clouds
Adobe releases Experience Manager for Healthcare and plugs its CDP into marketing and clinical data; Salesforce releases healthcare features. Continue Reading
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Feature
12 Jul 2021
Brands opt for headless e-commerce vs. traditional commerce
For large enterprises, headless commerce breaks down websites into user-friendly modules marketers can update. SMBs can also use it, paired with WordPress and other simple tools. Continue Reading
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News
29 Jun 2021
E-commerce giant Shopify upgrades Liquid, dev tools
Buoyed by the pandemic e-commerce boom, Shopify rolls out upgrades for no-code, low-code and pro-code offerings for its web platform -- and rewrites APIs to make stores faster. Continue Reading
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News
15 Jun 2021
SAP Spartacus, headless and Commerce Cloud take center stage
In the wake of the pandemic, SAP users focus on e-commerce, and SAP puts new emphasis on headless configurations as well as its Upscale Commerce package. Continue Reading
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News
02 Jun 2021
Salesforce plugs CDP, WhatsApp into marketing, e-commerce
Salesforce connects its CDP to its platform's customer loyalty tech; Marketing Cloud integrates WhatsApp, SnapChat ads and Datorama advanced analytics reports. Continue Reading
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News
02 Jun 2021
SAP Upscale Commerce gets reboot
SAP relaunches its Upscale Commerce, first released three years ago to little fanfare, to a broader midmarket base to compete with Shopify's top-end offerings. Continue Reading
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News
25 May 2021
Amazon hit with antitrust lawsuit
Amazon is facing an antitrust lawsuit for fixing retail product prices. Experts said the argument likely won't hold up and Amazon will fight it 'tooth and nail.' Continue Reading
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Feature
05 Apr 2021
How post-pandemic B2B e-commerce tech stacks will look
What will B2B e-commerce look like in the post-pandemic world? Experts and tech leaders share how COVID-19 fueled big changes and what's next. Continue Reading
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Guest Post
03 Mar 2021
Break down platforms via a service decomposition strategy
There's more than one way to break down a platform into microservices. This excerpt from 'Developing Microservice APIs with Python' explains one: decomposition by subdomains. Continue Reading
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News
18 Feb 2021
Amazon bolsters e-commerce for small business with Selz buy
Australian e-commerce platform Selz may have caught Amazon's attention because it employs Liquid, Shopify's template language, which will simplify migrations. Continue Reading
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News
08 Feb 2021
Adobe releases headless commerce developer tools
At its developer conference, Adobe debuts Experience Manager features to enable faster headless e-commerce deployments and GraphQL functionality for content personalization. Continue Reading
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News
19 Jan 2021
Google launches a suite of retail AI products
Google released AI products for online retailers as the tech giant increases its focus on industry verticals. The new products are designed for small and large retailers. Continue Reading
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News
14 Jan 2021
Capitol riots spark e-commerce terms of service enforcement
Shopify, Salesforce and Google take action in wake of Capitol riots, as adware and customer experience platforms play an uncomfortable role in political events and discourse. Continue Reading
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Feature
12 Jan 2021
SAP Commerce Cloud dresses up digital storefronts
SAP Commerce Cloud is designed to help companies launch digital commerce sites, which may be useful for large enterprises and digital commerce sites with complex processes. Continue Reading
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News
15 Dec 2020
Efforts to break up big tech expected to continue under Biden
Antitrust forces expect the Biden administration to pursue federal antitrust litigation and lawmaking. But Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have strong ties to big tech. Continue Reading
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News
30 Oct 2020
Holiday e-commerce set to surge
Adobe looks at e-commerce trends to predict holiday buying, while Salesforce surveys thousands of B2B buyers and consumers about what motivates their buying choices. Continue Reading
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News
20 Oct 2020
Government action on big tech monopoly power moving quickly
Government antitrust actions are building against tech giants Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google. They could lead to tighter regulation or even a breakup. Continue Reading
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News
08 Sep 2020
Salesforce e-commerce capabilities to expand with Mobify
Salesforce beefs up its headless e-commerce platform capabilities for enterprise retail customers with the acquisition of Mobify, a Canadian headless commerce hosting vendor. Continue Reading
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News
18 Aug 2020
E-commerce business growth slows, but still a boom period
As the world partially reopens businesses shuttered due to the pandemic, new e-commerce tech investments may make gains from earlier this year permanent. Continue Reading
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News
21 Jul 2020
Salesforce beefs up e-commerce order management features
Salesforce adds B2C-friendly order-management features to support internationalization of e-commerce, as well as pre-built integrations to channels such as Google and Instagram. Continue Reading
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Feature
25 Jun 2020
As stores reopen, e-commerce is king in luxury retail
Brick-and-mortar stores are reopening, but that doesn't mean retailers should lessen focus on online experiences. Olivela, a luxury retail company, strategizes for beyond COVID-19. Continue Reading
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Feature
17 Jun 2020
NLP, chatbot development reignite conversational commerce AI
The world of e-commerce has been focused on the adoption of conversational commerce for years to boost online sales. COVID-19 might just be the catalyst for widespread use. Continue Reading
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News
17 Jun 2020
Magento e-commerce content tools get Adobe AI boost
Adobe connects its Product Recommendations engine to Magento Page Builder to give users a no-code AI tool that offers different products to different customer segments. Continue Reading
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News
09 Jun 2020
Pandemic e-commerce trends point to massive growth
The pandemic caused consumers and businesses to form new online buying habits; now e-commerce is booming. That trend will hold for a year, or maybe forever, experts said. Continue Reading
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News
29 May 2020
Facebook Shops, Salesforce deliver quick e-commerce tools
During pandemic stay-at-home orders, Salesforce, Facebook and Instagram capitalize on the digital sales boom that resembles a three-month holiday surge that hasn't let up. Continue Reading
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Tip
13 May 2020
6 key benefits of headless commerce
Traditional e-commerce changed how businesses could sell products, but with headless commerce, organizations can better personalize the customer experience. Continue Reading
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News
07 May 2020
Salesforce Lightning App Builder adds low-code forms features
Salesforce Lighting App Builder will include oft-requested low-code features for building complex forms that previously required developer coding to create and update. Continue Reading
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Feature
06 May 2020
How IT leaders in retail can tap into blockchain's potential
By creating a solid data foundation based on standards, data quality checks and collaboration, blockchain for retail use cases could eventually usher in the user experience that customers want. Continue Reading
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Feature
01 May 2020
Email, social media marketing strategies adjust amid COVID-19
Businesses lean on email, social media marketing and softer brand messaging to keep customers engaged while the coronavirus keeps the world quarantined at home. Continue Reading
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Tip
27 Apr 2020
3 tips for adding e-commerce to an existing website
While many businesses realize the necessity for e-commerce functions on their websites, they should be sure to focus on the customer journey and maintaining consistent experiences. Continue Reading
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Feature
26 Mar 2020
Top 3 ways to increase engagement in e-commerce
Engagement is a key component of relationships between customers and businesses, and it is essential for fostering an exceptional customer experience. Continue Reading
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News
15 Jan 2020
Ex-SAP exec steers Episerver CMS toward digital experience market
Alex Atzberger discusses leaving the helm of SAP's CX platform to become Episerver CEO. Now, Episerver looks to reinvent itself as a digital experience platform provider. Continue Reading
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News
13 Jan 2020
Microsoft, Salesforce, Oracle launch retail customer experience tools
Retailers get new tools from leading customer experience platform vendors to better compete with online-only rivals. Continue Reading
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News
10 Jan 2020
Elastic Path acquires Moltin for headless commerce, microservices
Elastic Path's headless approach to e-commerce takes a step in the SaaS direction as it acquires Moltin, which specializes in microservices to enable online sales. Continue Reading
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News
17 Dec 2019
How Amazon customer experience became e-commerce standard
Amazon made personalization, one-click shopping, quick shipping and easy returns de facto standards for all B2C and now, B2B businesses. Read about how the company did it, and what's next. Continue Reading
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News
16 Dec 2019
Episerver expands B2B e-commerce footprint with Insite acquisition
Episerver's latest purchase expands its DX platform. It follows a trend of web CMS companies moving into territory dominated by Oracle, Salesforce, Adobe, Microsoft and SAP. Continue Reading
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Feature
13 Dec 2019
Amazon stores struggle to move from the cloud to solid ground
Looking for new kingdoms to conquer, Amazon is aggressively moving into physical retail locations. This time the e-commerce giant may face tougher competition. Continue Reading
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News
23 Oct 2019
Rent the Runway CEO discusses IT challenges, CX strategy
Rent the Runway CEO Jennifer Hyman shares the company's CX strategy, describes its customer data collection and use, and addresses recent IT upgrade challenges. Continue Reading
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News
22 Oct 2019
Adobe updates Magento Commerce, adds Amazon and Azure hooks
Adobe continues to support Magento Open Source but adds Azure support and AI tools only to the commercial version of the vendor's e-commerce platform. Continue Reading
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News
10 Oct 2019
Salesforce Lightning Order Management boosts e-commerce
Salesforce extends Customer 360 capabilities with a bundle of APIs to help users manage and track e-commerce orders and provide more detail to the customer as orders are picked, packed and shipped. Continue Reading
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News
22 Aug 2019
SAP Product Content Hub underpins CX initiatives in C/4HANA
SAP SaaS tool integrates AI, APIs for pushing updated product content to e-commerce sites. It also gives sales, marketing and service teams using C/4HANA access to the content. Continue Reading
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Tip
05 Aug 2019
7 ways to improve your retail sales
Retailers, especially traditional brick-and-mortar retailers, need to throw caution to the wind and follow these seven tips to spur sales and provide remarkable retail. Continue Reading
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News
19 Jun 2019
Target glitch pits e-commerce vs. POS customer experience
Big-box retailer Target's checkout outage showed how e-commerce systems can fill in when POS systems fail. They're not quite ready to supplant POS -- but they're getting there. Continue Reading
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News
03 Jun 2019
Adobe debuts Qualtrics plugin, Magento-Amazon D2C features
Adobe moves forward with an SAP Qualtrics plugin to measure voice of the customer on Experience Platform and strengthens Magento customers' Amazon presence with new features. Continue Reading
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Answer
21 May 2019
How do you choose an e-commerce platform to integrate with a CMS?
Before choosing an e-commerce system, companies need to identify their business objectives and determine what capabilities they need to add to their CMS. Continue Reading
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Answer
09 May 2019
What are the pros and cons of open source e-commerce platforms?
Open source e-commerce platforms are popular for businesses looking to build an online store. They offer cost savings and flexibility, but consider the support and security risks. Continue Reading
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News
02 May 2019
Hertz app causes legal pain for Accenture developers
Hertz e-commerce system for consumers at the center of $32 million suit; analysts looking at the detailed complaint spread plenty of blame over both parties. Continue Reading
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News
11 Apr 2019
Google Cloud for Retail debuts, Contact Center AI makes inroads
Google takes on cloud competitors by making an AI-rich home for online and bricks retailers with new suite. Also: Google Call Center AI extends to Genesys, Avaya, Salesforce, more. Continue Reading
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News
10 Apr 2019
Reimagined customer experience mobile apps driving new sales
Mobile and lightweight web apps aren't new. But digital teams driving demand generation is new, thanks to marketing automation platforms that can personalize the pitch. Continue Reading
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News
28 Jan 2019
Adobe Magento Commerce Cloud adds progressive web apps
Adobe is upgrading its e-commerce product by adding AI-fueled image-search capabilities and progressive web application building tools to Magento Commerce Cloud. Continue Reading
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News
15 Jan 2019
CX strategy a vital part of modernizing a business
Consumers are providing retailers with more data than ever before, with expectations that they will receive a personalized experience. But that can be challenging for retailers. Continue Reading
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Podcast
14 Jan 2019
Salesforce e-commerce upgrades put focus on mobile
Salesforce Commerce Cloud mobile-centric, consumer-focused upgrade unveiled at NRF 2019 conference, including Einstein Visual Search and Einstein Recommendations. Continue Reading
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Feature
19 Dec 2018
Customer data to play important role in CX software in 2019
Analysts see customer data continuing to be the main objective for CX companies, and that integration between platforms and third-party applications will grow in importance. Continue Reading
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Feature
12 Jul 2018
Augmented reality in retail transforms customer experiences
Retailers like Hershey's are experimenting with augmented reality to take the customers' experience beyond a smartphone screen and drop it into their living rooms. Continue Reading
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News
23 May 2018
Adobe acquisition of Magento puts Salesforce in its sights
Adobe looks to challenge Salesforce by adding e-commerce capabilities into its CX suite of products, just months after Salesforce doubled down on e-commerce with CloudCraze purchase. Continue Reading
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Feature
14 Feb 2018
Blockchain loyalty programs building future of customer experience
While blockchain platforms are still under construction and use cases are still being written, Hooters invests in its own. Others -- including employee rewards -- are to come. Continue Reading
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Tip
20 Oct 2016
Omnichannel data at core of new commerce offerings
SAP's Beyond CRM initiative and Salesforce's Commerce Cloud are going after customer data silos and trying to create a truly omnichannel picture. Continue Reading
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Tip
19 Jul 2016
Salesforce rallies in retail with purchase of Demandware e-commerce
Now that Salesforce has purchased Demandware, it's positioned to compete with vendors like Oracle and even Amazon for market share. Continue Reading
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Answer
14 Jul 2009
Three management tips for overseeing call center agents on night shift
There are psychological and medical challenges for call center agents working the night shift. Hear management tips from Donna Fluss for managing night shift call center agents. Continue Reading