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.

Kroger is set to offer a click-and-collection option at 10 Michigan stores by the end of 2016. ClickList, the brand's e-grocery service with curbside pickup, launched at one store in December and expanded to a second store this week.

Target is testing the online grocery delivery waters. The Minneapolis-based discounter has teamed with Instacart, the online grocery delivery service that started in 2012, to let shoppers in the Minneapolis area order fruits and other perishables, as well as household, pet and baby products, and have them delivered to their homes in as little as an hour.

New data from Juniper Research has revealed that global e-retail sales are expected to reach $1.7tr this year, up by more than 17 percent on 2014's total. It argued that while recent growth had been buoyed by factors such as public Wi-Fi deployments and 4G rollout, in the medium term sales would receive a strong fillip from the trend of social media companies to act as direct sales platforms.

Cross-border e-commerce is expected to exceed 3 billion consumers and $300bn by 2018, but to seize this opportunity, retailers must formulate strategies that meet the needs of global shoppers.