A perfect storm of factors—such as changes in consumer behavior, the emergence of large and powerful rivals, excess retail-selling-space capacity, consolidated and strong suppliers, and complex sourcing—are shaping a new competitive landscape in retailing. In such an environment, leaders in the industry face a number of key questions:

1) How do we become the destination for heavy spenders in our category?

2) How do we use transactional point-of-sale and loyalty-card data to better understand consumers and better serve them?

3) How do we ensure the seamless experience across channels and formats that consumers are now demanding?

4) How do we determine the right portfolio of products, services, formats, and locations for future growth?