A Tisket, A Tasket, Building Stronger Shopping Baskets

The U.S. Census Bureau claims 92 percent of retail still happens in a store, but those who’ve really been paying attention over the last few years know that’s an old headline. The more interesting news is 100 percent of consumers are looking to transact how they actually want to these days. Those consumers are searching for new and improved checkout experiences, including checkouts that involve no checkout at all. They crave better ways to pay and more transparent ways to finance. They want their data protected — but not at the expense of convenience. And they like to be able to test-drive things other than cars — because younger consumers are increasingly recognizing the wisdom of trying all kinds of things before they buy. It’s a lot to do, but retailers that want those bigger, better retail baskets must get serious about presenting the right offerings.