Retailers around the world are facing a prolonged and painful period of change and transformation to what will become the new normal for the industry. The change process will last well into 2010 and will produce a retail landscape that is quite different from that of the past. The current pace of technology change and global expansion can be quite daunting, but GRI believes that retailers that simplify infrastructure and process, outsource where it makes sense, and innovate to serve customers the most effectively will succeed for years to come. This white paper will explore the global retail industry's movement towards the attainment of total immersive shopping experience (ISE) abilities, and discuss how integrated customer relationship management (CRM) software suites will represent the key technological enabler to achieve this fundamental strategic business objective.