Retail Marketing

White Paper: Lightspeed

Two years of upheaval have shown us how important it is to respond swiftly to evolving customer demands. Unfortunately, many businesses are still unprepared for these changes, due in large part to legacy tools that restrict adaptability. And as the retail giants of the world race ahead, small- and medium-sized retailers are being left behind. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Thanks to continued development in retail technology, independent businesses can revolutionize their customer experience without breaking the bank. Retailers need to look to the future by adopting the digital strategies that have kept industry leaders selling through two years of challenges. This playbook walks through how to hedge a retail business against challenges with new technology, enabling retailers to expand their reach into customers’ homes and creating stronger relationships in the process.

White Paper: Webgains

Executive Summary The events of the past two-and-a-half years have reformed the vision for the future of retail and how businesses need to maintain a close relationship with their customer, in order to survive and come out on top. Never has the gap between retailers and consumers been so slight. The feeling across the board is one of hope and resilience, with a shared understanding of the importance of innovation. The Future of Retail white paper provides fascinating insights into how the world of retail is coping and will adjust in a post-pandemic future. Within this report, gain insight into how global behemoths like Alibaba are adjusting to the ‘new normal’ through leveraging omnichannel strategy with their Mom and Pop stores. Discover how Gen-Z are voting with their wallet and challenging retailers that are lacking in their approach to ethics and sustainability. Read how the high street of the future will serve many needs, not least as hubs for various communities but where people will still gather and meet for that all important real life human connection. This report also covers the advancements in seamless transaction and the rapid rise of the digital wallet, thus shifting attitudes towards models such as Buy Now, Pay Later, and the effort to deliver to the last mile. From covering these vast topics, one thing remained clear; the brutal nature of various lockdowns, restrictions and economic uncertainty has separated the DNVBs and retailers who were quick to adapt from those who lacked vision and an urgency to change tack. It is evident that relevancy is one of the key indicators to success within a post-pandemic world. Mumtaz Khamker, Global Head of Strategic Growth at Webgains Ltd. The Age of OmniChannel Introduction As the world regroups post-2020, we are seeing a shift in the way retail operates with an accelerated integration of digital. Here at Webgains, we have supported many small businesses to pivot and compete against much larger brands. These scaleups thrive by focusing simply on service, delivery and content. By integrating affiliate marketing into their strategy, our brands discovered that they were able to adapt and remain active during a time of intense doubt and uncertainty. By embracing and utilising the vast revenue streams digital commerce has to offer, our clients were able to build upon their brand presence and generate revenue without the need for a physical presence on the high street. This is demonstrated by DNVBs such as Boohoo and ASOS, acquiring the rights to long-standing high street giants. A scenario many wouldn’t have seen coming, certainly not in this decade. It is a prime example of how a willingness to bake omnichannels into your strategy will ensure relevance and longevity. Within our first topic of the Future of Retail report, we explore the key drivers which will aid in the survival of commerce and pave the way for a new type of retail.  

White Paper: Stratman Solutions

Compliance for CECL is closing in. To ensure your institution is prepared, it is critical to begin preparations now - if you have not yet done so. Top financial accounting firms recommend that Financial Institutions (FI) run their existing allowance calculations in parallel with their selected CECL solution (i.e. spreadsheet or third party software) for a period of time. This recommendation, of course, assumes that FIs have already overcome the major hurdle of choosing a CECL solution (and associated methodologies) for calculating current expected credit losses. For many institutions, researching and selecting a third party solution to establish initial CECL compliance and reporting can be nearly as arduous as the new regulation. Because the standard for CECL compliance is not prescriptive (i.e. there is no “specific methodology” that must be followed), many institutions have adopted needlessly complex solutions with multiple inputs that are likely to become burdensome to maintain long term. On the other end of the spectrum, FIs have developed Excel based solutions (in house or by working with advisors), that are not only labor intensive to maintain, but offer limited functionality. Still other institutions are seizing this opportunity to improve their data gathering, data retention and data mining & analytics capabilities. In whole, it appears the level of disparity in approaches to CECL compliance is equal only to the number of CECL solutions proffered by third party vendors. With this level of “noise” surrounding the CECL regulation, it’s easy to understand why some institutions have reached “analyses paralysis.” As with any new regulatory edict, the most effective path forward to ensure compliance by the January 2023 deadline, is a common sense approach. Each FI should look for a solution that: (1) offers multiple methodologies thereby providing future options and flexibility to determine the impact of each method; (2) is simple to implement - minimizes disruptions; (3) is easy to maintain long term; and (4) is scalable - to meet your future needs. At Stratman Solutions, we began our “CECL” journey with a common sense approach. We developed a solution that could both support our current reporting and compliance needs, and also provide the flexibility we’ll need in the future. Early in our journey, we determined we wanted more than an automated calculation/ reporting tool - only used on a quarterly basis. We wanted a notable return on our data collection and data mining efforts. To that end, we included asset management and asset (action) planning features within our CECL solution. Once finalized, we appropriately named our CECL solution “Asset Quality Management (AQM).”