Analyst Insight: The double-digit growth of the ecommerce channel is indisputable; yet, it's still only 6 percent of total U.S. retail spend. Amazon may seem like it's the 600-lb. gorilla, but it may just be Humpty Dumpty sitting on a wall. Omnichannel is certainly getting its share of hype. We believe connected consumer commerce will be a competitive mandate for bricks and mortar retailers. Are you ready for the disruptive changes to the rules of the game? – Rich Sherman, author and founder at Gold & Domas Research

Analyst Insight: The retail cut of the 2014 SCM World CSCO Study reaffirms that for most companies omnichannel is a major retail supply chain disruptor and that, for a few, progress has been made. Fulfillment changes have been driven by a desire for greater speed and agility. Battle lines are drawn between online and bricks-and-mortar supply chains. As omnichannel leaders look to move from walk to run, retail’s best weapon is harnessing demand data to make smart trade-offs. – Matt Davis, SVP Research at SCM World

Analyst Insight: The last two years have seen a rush to provide store fulfillment services - similar to the efforts to deploy e-commerce FCs back in 1998-2000. To date, store fulfillment initiatives have largely been tactical, technology-driven initiatives chartered to leverage existing applications-integration in order to support “save the sale" functionality as well as offload growing FC volumes to the retail store. The coming years will experience a "financial-efficiency" driven effort to maximize profit margin and optimize network inventory efficiency under the new age of constrained IT investment. – Kevin Hume, Principal, Tompkins International

Analyst Insight: Omnichannel commerce is the new "normal" for retail. And it's a tall order for most companies to achieve. You'll need an omnichannel road map that incorporates where you've come from and where you need to be based on your customers' expectations and your business strategy. – Joe Dunlap, Senior Director, Supply Chain Strategy, Fortna Inc.

Although the term "omnichannel" has become most associated with success in retail and consumer goods, few companies are confident in their omnichannel abilities, according to a new study by Ernst & Young and the Consumer Goods Forum. They blame the supply chain.

Retail demand planning is, to a great extent, a game of numbers. But the store that relies entirely on hard statistics is likely to be in for an unpleasant surprise.

An estimated 67 percent of a recent survey's respondents under the age of 50 are interested in using mobile technology for as many purchases as possible. Moreover, 46 percent under 50 would like personalized offers sent to their smartphones while shopping in-store.