We live in a volatile world where the speed and spread of information, misinformation and off-the-cuff opinions can damage people, businesses, and governments in a matter of minutes. We also live in a non-private ecosystem where everything is open to the dangerous tactics of groups and individuals with a negative or potentially disruptive agenda.

The big brands are stuffed with inventory, inflation is hurting demand, and the market is cooling. If you’re an omnichannel retailer, all of these are sound reasons to pull back expenses and play good defense. After all, that’s the conservative and safe play in these environments. But is that the right strategy?

Who is to blame for Bed Bath and Beyond? The conventional thinking is that if company goes into a tailspin, then the CEO and the executive team must be replaced. Sometimes that’s valid, however, generally, it’s not the final answer to the problem.

Since Estee Lauder first introduced the free gift with purchase in 1946, retail brands have been wracking their collective brain in efforts to triumph in the “surprise & delight” of customers. From free samples, to surprise birthday gifts and loyalty perks, we seem to have seen it all at this point.

Initially, the Amazon Effect was a term coined to describe online shopping’s disruption of conventional physical retail locations. As the ecommerce landscape has matured, this effect has come to disrupt much more. The disruption retail brands now face is from the ever- increasing customer expectations set by the experience shoppers receive on amazon.com.

Customer Experience-CX Automation holds the key to differentiating retail brands who are serious about delivering an exceptional online shopping experience for their customers from the ones that just talk the talk.