“Digital brands have been experts at getting in front of a consumer, understanding them, capturing data, messaging to their consumer, but it’s an expensive endeavor. It’s increasingly expensive to acquire customers through Facebook, Instagram, Google or retargeting—these companies have been relying upon raising a lot of money at high valuations but not necessarily building sustainable businesses.” Retailers also are experimenting with virtual reality, chatbots and augmented reality as new ways to show off products. But unlike other retail categories, like consumer packaged goods, there’s a larger onus on retail to make sure those tests prove worthwhile for consumers and are not overly gimmicky.

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Malls are at an inflection point. The old mall business model is in the scrap heap, and reinventing a new type of mall out of the old bones of yesteryear’s mall takes significant investment, creativity and time for planning. The way to find that “never looked better” future for malls is to reimagine and reengineer malls and shopping centers as “Consumer Engagement Spaces” or CESs. The now outmoded idea of malls as places for retailers to push out product offerings into a mass market must be replaced by a pull-marketing approach where the mall is designed around the needs and interests of an increasingly

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With the ability to open multiple browser tabs, shoppers today have zero tolerance for high markups and experiences that haven’t been updated in decades. The store has become obsolete. However, despite declarations of a retail apocalypse, the reality is that brick-and-mortar has a genuine shot at survival, but only if it abandons its traditional ways. Retail must embrace a different mindset, one that blends physical space with digital technology and keeps savvy consumers on their toes. Enter the flagship experience, the next generation of brick-and-mortar retail.

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With the plethora of sales and deals, it’s no surprise that the holidays are when Americans get to enjoy their favorite pastime — and Easter is no exception. Apart from the more hyped-up Black Friday, the holiday, which falls on the first of April this year, has long marked a shopping tradition. Easter spending is expected to reach $18.2 billion in 2018 — the second-highest level on record, trumped only by last year’s $18.4 billion. “Despite a modest drop, the Easter forecast is still very positive and nearly as high as last year’s record,” NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Consumer spending remains healthy both for this holiday and this spring, and that paints an optimistic picture for the U.S. economy in the year ahead.”

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Macy’s and peers like Nordstrom, big box retailers like Target, and other traditional brick-and-mortar stores like Ulta are repositioning as they figure out what they can leverage in the age of Amazon to keep customers from straying. They may not be able to beat Amazon, but, the goal is, they can prove that Amazon hasn’t squashed their ability to stay in business. The strategy is to invest in private-label and other inventory exclusives, turn physical stores into fulfillment centers, position in-store employees as category experts and drive participation in loyalty programs, while continuing to invest in e-commerce and mobile commerce capabilities.

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Macy's Inc. (M - Get Report)  knows it'll never be the hot new boutique in town, so instead, it wants to be your next hangout spot. Parties within stores? Cashier-less checkout? Macy's is going all-out with its brick-and-mortar turnaround. Under its North Star strategy unveiled in May, the department store is upping its brick-and-mortar appeal by spiffing up product offerings, revamping stores and rolling out innovations for customers, all the while riding the momentum of its positive comparable sales growth in the fourth quarter — the first time in 12 full quarters.

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Call it the Snapchat effect. For the consumer, the experience is an extension of what they’re already come to expect from online shopping - an interactive and social experience with convenient, seamless checkout. Smart mirrors do double duty, offering countless styles to try on, while also functioning as a checkout system for speedier transactions. As technologies improve, brick-and-mortar retailers will be making a comeback. “We always hear about the big store closings,” but we are seeing more retailers turn to technology to improve customers’ in-store experience.”

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Being agile is the key to survival. Brands like Gap know that new tools and terabytes of data aren’t enough; to survive in this brave new digital jungle, they need to reinvent how they do business. When it comes to digital transformation, most brands have the digital side down. They’re using Adobe or Salesforce marketing cloud, Sprout or Sprinklr for social engagement, RedPoint or Segment to manage customer data, and so on. It’s the transformation that’s the hard part. “Because it’s not just about having the right tools, it’s about having the right kind of organization, operating model, talent and mindset, says Jason Heller, partner at McKinsey & Co. “Most companies are technology rich but insight and execution poor.”

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The commercial opportunity exists because we need belonging at a fundamental level . We have a crisis of belonging–and great brands will step into the vacuum created by social isolation. And, some for-profit brands are now identifying this opportunity. Thinking beyond “customers,” “fans,” or “followers,” the next frontier for great brands is stepping into the cultural need and market opportunity for deeper, real-world person-to-person connection. Companies that can help their customers remake the social fabric have an enormous opportunity.

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In an age where customers are increasingly trusting robots to make recommendations, order toilet paper and ship packages to their door, differentiation should be grounded in what kind of a relationship retailers can offer. And for many, that means starting by investing more in stores associates, and getting them easy-to-use technology that allows them to better personalize the in-store shopping experience and build loyalty with customers. Here, executives from Best Buy, The Home Depot and MM.LaFleur share their visions for the future of retail.

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