A key theme from many of the Q2 earnings reports this past week is that the shift from physical to digital is imminent. As a result, executives are looking for more innovative ways to bridge the gap. One notable trend is that underperforming stores are being closed down in favor of further investments across digital channels to improve the customer experience. While these shifts come with an air of change, the end result will be a win-win for retailers and consumers alike. In that spirit, many of the articles curated from the past week follow along with the theme of digital transformation. Enjoy!

Industry

• Expanding channels to reach more customers is a key practice across any digital transformation initiative. Stibo Systems conducted a study to learn more and found that the primary motivations are in creating a relevant and consistent customer experience across all channels. Moving From Omnichannel to Digital Transformation [Retail TouchPoints]

• Many digital retailers are building intelligent systems that know our styles, preferences, and even moods in order to tailor the shopping experience accordingly. While that sure sounds like the future, is this a realistic goal? Artemis Berry takes a candid look at the meanings behind personalization. How 'relevant' is personalization? [Medium]

Culture

• Digital transformation is not just about the technology, it’s just as important to adapt company culture to match. Chris Cancialosi tells the story of a 150 year old bank that successfully undertook a culture change using DevOps practices. How Culture Change Fuels Digital Transformation: Lessons From Westpac New Zealand [Forbes]

• Recruiting is a two way street, with individuals and companies both putting their best foot forward. This can be difficult for many companies who may not have a known, visible brand. Dave Fecak tackles the challenge for companies competing with the big guys for engineering talent. 'I Want To Work With Good People' and Engineering Brands [DZone]

Technology

• The Java ecosystem has had numerous changes of the crown over the years, but it’s felt a bit fragmented in recent times. After witnessing a glaring number top tier enterprises at the SpringOne platform talk about developer empowerment, James Governor is declaring a clear leader. Spring Won Platform: the Big Switch just happened [RedMonk]

• Sure, it’s easy to point fingers and chuckle at outdated infrastructure practices resulting in the recent Delta outage, but that’s missing the point. Michael W. Cooper shares some best practices for dealing with an outage from his own experience at T-Mobile. Outages happen: 4 ways to prevail over your next big system failure [TechBeacon]

Experience

• Understanding how users interact with products is a science, and often comes down to psychology. Cesar Bejarano puts forth the factors that facilitate discoverability; those moments when things just make sense. Human Centered Design & The 6 Fundamental Principles of Interaction Between Products and Users [uxdesign.cc]

• As more and more purchases happen from mobile devices, it is crucial that native apps and mobile optimized websites enable a clear shopping experience. Nick Babich shares a few practical tips for the ever important Product Detail view. Mobile eCommerce: Product Details [UX Planet]