Amazon.com, Inc.

Either through specialized expertise in stores, like lululemon and Under Armour, or by ease of access to a wide variety of products, like Amazon, this year's fastest-growing retailers are going beyond function to a more emotional connection as the key to rapid growth.

With the growing competition from Amazon.com across all sectors in which it competes, brands like Target, Best Buy, Walmart and others are looking to understand how to better compete against this ubiquitous retailer. Results from a new study show that many retailers have a way to go; specifically, for most brands measured, the local store outperforms its online counterpart.

Despite being far more tech-savvy than previous generations, Generation Y, the 80-million strong cohort of Americans between the ages of 18 and 35, has not forsaken shopping in stores for online purchasing. Even more surprising are some of the brands they love best, including Walmart, Target and Kmart for groceries.

A new survey of 1,000 consumers reveals that loyalty has indeed become a two-way street. No longer are the days when brands can advocate solely for themselves. Read on for a breakdown of consumer loyalty preferences by gender, generation and geographic location.

Walmart holds the No. 1 position on an annual list of the 50 most valuable U.S. retail brands. Biggest risers Macy's and Amazon.com demonstrate the need to compete at the speed of retail. Find out which retailers fell off the list completely and which ones make their debut. Plus, Interbrand names retail market leaders in 11 other countries.

When you're attending "Retail's BIG Show", it seems like everyone is there and this year's record attendance of 27,000 means there was indeed quite a crowd. If you missed the event, don't fret. RIS News compiled a recap of the most important takeaways, covering omnichannel transformations and smarter commerce to applications for Big Data and more.

New this year, CGT's readers rank the top five technology companies that provide software, hardware and/or services for managing "mobility" for both internal and external communications.