And a Miracle Happened There (in Hawaii, on the Big Island)
Some regions worry that snow storms could prevent consumers from going shopping. Others have to deal with the threat of tornadoes or hurricanes. Not many have to deal with lava, but on occasion, it happens. Residents of Pahoa, located on the Big Island of Hawaii, were concerned in December when the lava flow from a nearby volcano, which has been active since the 80's, threatened to disrupt the holiday shopping season. Lava had been creeping its way toward the Pahoa Marketplace, but miraculously, came to a stop just before Christmas. At last report, the lava was about a mile or so away from the shopping center.
Two Reports with 18 Retail Trends and Predictions for 2015
Vend, a Point-of-Sale software developer, has a dozen retail predictions for 2015, most of which, you might expect, have to do with adopting and utilizing new technologies. What caught your humble newsletter editor's eye was its 12th prediction, that the most successful retailers will be the ones that are “embracing multiple channels to serve customers.” The report concludes that “improving the customer experience” is ultimately the bottom line. In another report, Teradata, a provider of enterprise big data analytics, offers a half-dozen techno-predictions for 2015 in Retail Info Systems News.
Could this be the Year that Brick-and-Mortar Dents Amazon.com?
Retail prognosticators have been out and about ringing in 2015 with their soothsaying and ability to foresee the future. A recent Forbes article's number one prediction: that Amazon will be getting a run for its money by – wait for it – Walmart, Target and other traditional land-based, real-life shopping behemoths. According to the article, Wendy Liebmann, CEO of WSL Strategic Retail, traditional retailers' digital strategies are catching up to and poised to nudge Amazon from its digital perch by “enhancing… the shopper experience” in 2015.
DMM Storymap:
Phoenix, AZ
Check out the latest ESRI Storymap that has just been posted online. This latest map provides details about Phoenix, Arizona. The Phoenix-Tucson area is home to more than five million people and generates economic output of more than $250 billion, just slightly less than Hong Kong, making it one of the fifty largest economies in the world. DMM has been an ESRI data partner since 2005, providing shopping center and mall data for use in ESRI Location Analytics. Click here for more information about the ESRI story maps, and another recent DMM/ESRI Storymap titled “The Future Revealed.”
.
Spotlight Listing: Merle Hay Mall, Des Moines IA
