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GA4: Unraveling the New World of Google Analytics

| Mike O'Brien

The digital landscape has experienced a seismic shift with the recent sunset of Google Universal Analytics (UA) in favor of Google Analytics 4 or GA4, introduced in 2020. As of July 1, Google stopped processing data through UA, creating a forced migration. Ben Hardt, VP of business intelligence and innovation at X Agency, walks us through the changes and the impact on marketers.

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Tailored Brands Leverages AI to Optimize Inventory Management

| Mike O'Brien

Tailored Brands, a menswear and formalwear retailer that includes Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank, needed to anticipate customers’ evolving preferences for various style, color and size choices in its tuxedo rental business. CTO Scott Vifquain and Gurhan Kok, founder of Invent Analytics, talk about how AI-based technology was applied, and the results so far in our MCM CommerceChat podcast.

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Who Is Leading in GenAI Readiness and Projected Business Impact?

| Mike O'Brien

It’s undeniable that artificial intelligence is having a major impact across industries. But what does that mean in dollars and cents? IHL Group has estimated the business impact of AI, GenAI and machine learning on the retail and restaurant sectors through 2029 at $1.5 trillion. IHL also ranks companies on AI readiness and projected business impact. IHL president Greg Busek breaks down their findings.

domestic shipping, ecommerce, ecommerce returns, Endicia, FedEx, Free returns, IRCE, IRCE 2014, postage, returns, returns process, shipping, Shipping/Delivery, UPS, USPS

MCM CommerceChat: U.S. Spending on Returns Equals Public School Budget

| Ian McRae

With ecommerce returns close to a $1 trillion problem for retailers, companies continue to wrestle with ways to reduce the number of orders getting sent back. In many ways it’s a problem of their own making. Simone Theresa Peinkofer, Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management at Michigan State University, joins our podcast to share her insights on the problem and what’s being done.

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Looking At UPS-Teamster Scenarios

| Mike O'Brien

Can UPS and the Teamsters reach agreement in time? Should UPS meet the union’s demand for higher part-time worker pay, or leave its last offer on the table? Is there a joint realization that too much is at stake? And if it happens, how will other carriers pick up the slack? We discuss all this with Gaston Curk, CEO of postal consolidator OSM Worldwide in this MCM CommerceChat podcast.

The INFORM Act: What You Need to Know

| Mike O'Brien

The INFORM Act goes into effect June 27, to help stem the tide of counterfeit goods on ecommerce marketplaces. The FTC can impose fines and injunctions against marketplace operators that don’t provide information on high-volume sellers. Alexandra Megaris of Venable LLP helps us gain a better understanding of its ramifications.

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Retailers’ Real Appetite for Sustainability

| Ian McRae

A new global study by IBM found that 61% of CPGs and retailers are purposefully aligning sustainability and operational goals: 77% said sustainability investments will accelerate business growth. Luq Niazi, a global managing partner at IBM Consulting, talks about how companies are allocating resources for sustainability, and how to communicate your efforts to consumers without greenwashing.

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Walmart and the DTC Brand Unwind

| Mike O'Brien

The curious case of Walmart’s venture into creating a stable of hot startup DTC brands has come to a close, with the 2023 sales of Moosejaw, Bonobos and Eloquii in quick succession. So it’s a fitting time to take a look at the six-year-plus journey that began with the $3.3 billion acquisition of Jet.com. We look back and ruminate with Raj Konanahalli, a partner and managing director with AlixPartners.