Halloween is a little more than a month away, a holiday that kicks off the season of pumpkin-spiced everything, groups of adorable and scary trick-or-treaters, and of course, good old-fashioned ghost stories.

For retailers, there is a ghost story that is far more terrifying as it haunts all corners of the retail industry, every day of the year. Based on true events, “The Ghost Economy” tells us that up to 25 percent of retail sales perpetually occur at zero or negative margin. Want to hear something even more chilling? According to IHL Group, there is an $800 Billion data and inventory disconnect plaguing retail.¹ Out-of-stock products, overstocked merchandise, disappointed customers and profit losses; there is simply not enough bandwidth to manage the costly disconnects in inventory, operations, shipping and delivery that are unraveling the carefully optimized omni-channel experience.

But, this horrifying tale can have a happy ending. OrderDynamics is helping forward-thinking retailers like Neiman Marcus, Brooks Brothers, T.M. Lewin and 80 other leading retailers in 33 countries by powering intelligent commerce across all channels in order to dispel these retail ghouls and empower seamless commerce experiences.

Retailers with intelligent commerce solutions are realizing results like:

• $5.75 million in new cross-channel revenue with reserve online, pick up in store capabilities
• $2.3 million in discovered sales opportunity in one week
• An average 21% increase in year over year profit

Even the most innovative retailers are haunted by disconnects, but they can turn this scary account into a win through addressing them head-on. Take a look at this article by Kevin Sterneckert, our CMO, on The Ghost Economy, recently featured in Internet Retailer magazine. He addresses the three critical areas that are often overlooked or taken for granted by retailers, causing sell-through and profits to be disturbingly low.

Heading to Seattle for Shop.org this month? Please stop by booth #2801 to hear how we are empowering intelligent commerce from first touch to fulfillment and dispelling the ghosts of retail present.

¹ IHL Group, “Inventory Distortion: Retail’s $800 Billion Problem,” Dec. 2011