Fiona Swerdlow
VP, Research Director

Author Insights
Blog
The Customer Lifecycle Is The Design Muse To Accelerate Your Journey To Customer Obsession
Learn how the Forrester Customer Lifecycle Framework helps B2B and B2C business leaders — enterprisewide! — calibrate what are too often internally focused processes instead of the customer’s process and perspective in order to become more customer-obsessed.
Blog
Global Consumers Drive The Market Toward Sustainable Retail
From a long-standing focus on sustainability by companies such as Patagonia and REI to newer initiatives such as Galeries Lafayette’s (Re)Store, IKEA designing for reuse, and Mars’ pledge for net-zero emissions (among many!), retailers and brands are on the path to actively supporting the circular economy. Overall, consumers’ consciousness about environmental, social, and governance (ESG) […]
Blog
Predictions 2022: Retailers Will Compete On “Pre-Loved,” Returns — And New Partners
The biggest retail trends of 2022 will involving tapping into the circular economy and using returns to retain customers. Learn more.
Blog
The 2021 End-Of-Year Holidays Blog Prep Series Kicks Off!
Over the coming weeks, we'll advise retailers on holiday prep topics from application security and bot management to consumer “confidence” measures, marketing tactics, and much more.
Blog
Retailers Take Four Of The Top Spots In The US CX Index, 2021
Retailers snagged four of the top 11 spots in the Forrester US CX Index 2021, more than any other single surveyed industry. Discover which retailers soared during a challenging year, and why.
Blog
Thanksgiving Signals That The Holidays Are Kicking Off In Earnest — With A 2020 Twist
Thanksgiving and Black Friday are upon us, so we asked consumers how they’re thinking about holiday shopping. Among US online consumers we surveyed in early November, we found that: Holiday offers are out there — even if not all consumers are ready. Close to half (45%) of US online adults we surveyed hadn’t started thinking […]
Blog
Predictions 2021: Retailers, Brand Manufacturers, And Mall Operators
In the wake of the pandemic's deluge of disruption, retailers, brand manufacturers, and ecosystem players such as mall operators are entirely rethinking their businesses, heralding much change ahead. Read what we predict for retail in 2021.
Blog
Holiday 2020 Kicks Off
It’s Amazon Prime Day and Big Billion Days week — a fitting time to kick off Holiday 2020 and Forrester’s annual holiday prep blog series. In the coming weeks, watch for Forrester analyst expert insights about everything from marketing, podcast advertising, and smart post-purchase notifications to US holiday forecast scenarios, “11/11” event analysis, thwarting “grinchy” […]
Research Collection
US Retailers Face Unprecedented Challenges In Planning For Q4
Q4 contributes a significant part of many retailers’ annual revenues and profits. As of mid-Q3, factors like high unemployment, a resurgence in COVID-19 cases, short-term and permanent store closures, and the expiration of the US Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program are making it challenging for US retailers to plan for Q4. We’ve created a collection […]
Blog
Walmart Doubles Down On ‘Save Money. Live Better.’ As It Wants To Help You Shop For Your Next Health Insurance Plan
Recently, Walmart quietly launched Walmart Insurance Services LLC. To better understand and triangulate what this move means for the future of healthcare, a team of Forrester analysts weighed in. Read their takes.
Blog
Future Of Retail 2020: Retail Marketers Face Privacy And Data Ethics Regulations
Forrester retail industry analysts provide insights on how privacy and data ethics regulations will affect retail marketers.
Blog
Future Of Retail 2020: Retailers Test Consumer-Facing And Operational IoT Solutions
To understand how Forrester’s predictions will unfold in the retail industry in 2020, my colleague Madeline Cyr and I interviewed experts within Forrester for our “Applying 2020 Predictions To Retail” series. To understand the internet of things (IoT) predictions for 2020, we spoke with Forrester IoT expert Frank Gillett. Madeline Cyr: In 2020, you predict […]
Blog
Future Of Retail 2020: Retailers Will Create Bold Employee Experiences
To understand how Forrester’s predictions will unfold in the retail industry in 2020, my colleague Madeline Cyr and I interviewed experts within Forrester for our “Applying 2020 Predictions To Retail” series. To understand the employee experience (EX) predictions for the year, we spoke with Forrester Principal Analyst David Johnson, who serves CIO professionals. Madeline: You […]
Blog
Future Of Retail 2020: Retail B2C Marketers Manage Influencers, Marketing Partnerships, And DTC Acquisitions
Principal Analyst Jim Nail and Senior Analyst Tina Moffett weigh in on what's ahead for retail marketers and how retail companies can position themselves for success.
Blog
Future Of Retail 2020: Retail CMOs Must Create Value To Spark Joy In Customers
To understand how Forrester’s predictions will unfold in the retail industry in 2020, my colleague Madeline Cyr and I interviewed experts within Forrester for our “Applying 2020 Predictions To Retail” series. To understand the customer predictions for the year, I spoke with Anjali Lai, a Forrester expert on CMO-targeted consumer behavior and decision-making research
Blog
Future Of Retail 2020: Retail CMOs Must Invest In Total Brand Experience
Direct-to-consumer competition and pressure to deliver ever more impactful experiences are reshaping the chief marketing role.
Blog
Future Of Retail 2020: Retail Industry CIOs Will Invest In Automation, Data, And Employees
To understand how Forrester’s predictions will unfold in the retail industry in 2020, my colleague Madeline Cyr and I interviewed experts within Forrester for our “Applying 2020 Predictions To Retail” series. To understand the CIO predictions for the year, we spoke with Bobby Cameron, a Forrester expert on CIO-targeted business technology research. Madeline Cyr: You […]
Blog
A Belated Gift For Retailers: Holiday 2019 Recap Webinar
This blog post is part of Forrester’s Holiday 2019 retail series. During the past few weeks, retailers have begun to release their Q4 earnings, which include holiday results for many of them. Holiday 2020 is still months away, but retailers know that it’s never too early to start planning for the biggest season of the year. […]
Blog
Predictions 2020: Retailers Seek An Edge Amid Uncertainty
As social, political, and economic forces create murky conditions for retailers, they will explore new ways to differentiate themselves. VP, Research Director Fiona Swerdlow explains how.
Blog
Retail Spotlight: A Look Into Nordstrom’s Newly Opened NYC Flagship
Last Thursday, Nordstrom opened the doors to its highly anticipated NYC flagship location. Prior to last year, Nordstrom had a relatively small physical retail footprint in NYC, which is currently its largest market for online sales. Since then, Nordstrom has opened a handful of locations across Manhattan, including the brand-new flagship, the Nordstrom Men’s Store, […]
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