Shoppers are expected to spend roughly $17.3bn on Easter goods this year, a record amount according to the National Retail Federation's annual Easter Spending Survey conducted by Prosper Insights and Analytics.

Today's consumer packaged goods companies are facing a winner-take-all world in which about half the sales growth - more in certain categories and markets - is coming from digital channels. Companies have to earn their online market positions with new approaches and skills tailored to digital sales, says a report released by The Boston Consulting Group and the Grocery Manufacturers Association.

Despite investing significant time and money in current commerce solutions, the majority of marketers and IT professionals surveyed aren't confident in their capabilities. Nearly one third (30 percent) of brands in both B2B and B2C industries spent more than $2m for their current commerce site, and 44 percent say it took longer than a year to implement, according to the 2016 State of Digital Commerce Report from e-commerce solution provider CloudCraze.

Analyst Insight: Today's chief supply chain officer (CSCO) is beset by pressures on all fronts, struggling to understand and meet customer demands for cheaper, faster and efficient logistic processes from source to final delivery. Under omnichannel competitive pressures, web and mobile orders tendered by 2 p.m. must be fulfilled and shipped in the same. These growing B2C fulfill-to-deliver flows add shipping and labor costs and, if not optimized, impact margins and profitability. This constitutes a call to action! - Bob Heaney, Research Director and Principal Analyst, Aberdeen Group

Analyst Insight: The growth of e-commerce, the evolution of consumer expectations, and the globalization of e-commerce have resulted in many changes in the requirements of retail supply chains. These changes demand that retail supply chains handle more volume, quicker, and around the world. Supply chains are at a crossroads to either constrain an organization’s success or to enable the organization’s profitable growth. - Jim Tompkins, CEO, Tompkins International

Analyst Insight: With the consumer's hands firmly placed on the steering wheel, omnichannel retailing is driving the retail industry forward with record-breaking speed. Item-level RFID is fueling the journey by providing retailers with real-time inventory visibility, rich data insights, and a means for better trading partner collaboration - allowing for more efficient supply chain operations and ultimately, an enhanced customer experience. - Melanie Nuce, Vice President of Apparel and General Merchandise, GS1 US

Analyst Insight: Retail continues its massive digital evolution; we no longer should look at e-commerce as a separate activity for retailers. Consumers are only concerned about commerce. The lines between different retail channels have blurred, consumers expect retailers to service their demands and needs regardless of which path they decide to leverage with the retailers. Retailers' supply chains must keep pace with these digital changes. -- Guy F. Courtin, Vice President & Principal Analyst, Constellation Research

Analyst Insight: Retailers are seeing new opportunities afforded by omnichannel commerce to leverage brick-and-mortar assets as more than just nodes in the distribution network. They are taking advantage of customers' desires for low or no shipping costs to drive additional in-store spend and seamless returns that make customers happy and ease the burden on distribution. -- Rob Dold, Retail Industry Leader, Fortna Inc.

Retailers are expanding their networks of stores internationally this year despite the presumed headwind of online shopping, with a greater percentage eyeing growth in the Americas than last year, according to a survey of more than 150 major, international brands released by CBRE Group, Inc.

U.S. retailers are racing to stay relevant in a rapidly changing shopping environment led by growth of e-commerce, the ubiquity of mobile devices, and the demanding expectations of consumers, according to PwC's annual online shopper survey, Total Retail: The Race for Relevance. Based on a survey of more than 23,000 online consumers globally, the report reveals the changing behaviors of consumers, driven by convenience, price, social media and brand trust.