Artificial Intelligence

Did Walmart's $3.3 billion acquisition of e-tail startup Jet — the largest buyout in American e-commerce history — help it this holiday season?     A new report from Ugam finds Walmart's first holiday season following its acquisition of Jet.com last summer saw fewer out-of-stocks, but that the chain still has room for improvement on pricing and assortment.  

Mike McNamara, chief information officer and digital office for Target Corp, was among the speakers this week at the National Retail Federation’s annual Big Show in New York City. McNamara described how Target’s technology team is leading the way on transformation.   In the blog post below, which is on Target’s website, McNamara discusses the change he is leading, and some of the exciting technologies he saw at the Big Show: 

The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and Accenture are collaborating to help shape how the fashion industry integrates technology and consumer insights into its business practices.    Combining the creativity within CFDA’s membership with Accenture’s expertise in customer experience, strategy, insights and technology, the two organizations will create talent-development programs for today’s designers and tomorrow’s retailers.  

Sears has a new strategy to help rebuild its brand and drive profitability: artificial intelligence.    Eyeing relationships with its Sears Automotive customers, the embattled retailer is piloting its “Digital Tire Journey,” a web app that relies on IBM Watson to help shoppers buy tires. Unlike typical ecommerce websites that often rely on a drop-down menu of pre-selected tire terms, Sears’ artificial intelligence-based web app delves into the driving and lifestyle preferences of shoppers.  

Retail sales weren’t the only thing that rose during the 2016 holiday season.    Fraud attempts increased by 31% during the past holiday season, according to data from ACI Worldwide, which, on the positive side, found the number of overall transactions increased by 16%.   

Nearly half of retailer leaders will be out of business if they don’t transform themselves digitally.   This is according to “Reinventing Retail: Cisco Reveals How Stores Can Surge Ahead on the Digital Transformation Journey,” a study based on data from 200 retail executives from North and South America and regions of Europe. Companies represent brick-and-mortar retailers, e-commerce, apparel manufacturers, food service and other segments of retail.  

Personalization is at the core of Buckle’s success.    However, engaging customers differently requires a deep understanding of each shopper, and leveraging specific details to foster long-term relationships. Buckle is improving its personalization efforts through a new cloud-based solution designed to create the high-touch, individualized shopping experiences the chain has built its brand on.  

Nordstrom is realigning and streamlining its top technology positions.    The company said that Dan Little, Nordstrom’s chief information officer, plans to retire next fall. Little joined Nordstrom in 2002, as VP, supply chain strategy. He was named to his current position in 2014.