Walmart is rolling out a program to send shoppers e-receipts via its mobile app, and while they're surely thrilled to save a few trees the real impetus is the wealth of customer data it can provide.

You know all that CRM data you've been so lovingly collecting from loyalty programs, special offers, POS systems and any other way you could find to gather shopper information? It's about to be put at risk by a data broker - and not in the way you expected.

The payment point in a retail environment is an under-utilized opportunity to up-sell and cross-sell. It says that both retailers and brands could benefit from considering ways to capitalize upon this crucial step in the consumer journey, as apart from driving sales, it is an excellent moment to increase customer loyalty.

When IBM announced it was selling its entire POS business to Toshiba TEC for $850m, it was arguably the most explicit sign yet that the retail POS hardware business is on its last legs. Not IBM's POS business, but retail POS activity in general.

The worldwide supply chain planning (SCP) market is forecast to grow 44 percent over the next five years, representing a compound annual growth rate of 7.6 percent, according to a new ARC Advisory Group study. With the global economic downturn now predominantly in the past, capital spending on information technology has rebounded vigorously. The SCP market has participated in this rebound, as suppliers have reported recent revenue growth rates well above the long-term trend.