Digital technology has forever changed the way consumers engage with all businesses, and in response, the retail industry is undergoing a monumental shift toward offering customer-centric, personalized, digitally/physically converged experiences in the stream of life. The shift requires much more than slight alterations to engagement strategies or incremental investments in new process and technology. To remain competitive, retailers must respond to the shift in consumer shopping and buying patterns by taking advantage of the opportunities digital technology offers to reinvent the customer relationship.

The following questions were posed by CenturyLink to Robert Eastman, research manager of IDC Retail Insights, on behalf of CenturyLink’s customers.