Artificial Intelligence

When it comes to supporting the back end of omnichannel retailing, the Bon-Ton Stores Inc. digs deeper than supply chain.

Bon-Ton has selected the end-user experience monitoring (EUM) solution from Catchpoint Systems, a digital performance analytics company, to help optimize the company’s digital customer experience. Specifically, the retailer will use Catchpoint’s Synthetic (Active) Monitoring solution to ensure that its e-commerce website and mobile site deliver consistently high performance, and to find and fix issues before they impact consumers.

Literally hundreds of considerations go into designing an app, but the success of your app hinges largely on one factor: user experience (UX).

So what is UX exactly? It’s less about what an app does and more about how it feels. You don’t just use apps, you engage with them. The instant a user opens an app for the first time, they form a connection with it. Their initial impression draws upon physical and emotional cues, and is largely influenced by UX.

Shoe shoppers know how individual fit can be, and footwear chain DSW Inc. is trying to be as accommodating as possible.
 
DSW is partnering with 3D footwear printing specialist Feetz to create custom fit, sustainably made shoes. Feetz uses a combination of 3D printer technology and human craftspeople to make new pairs of shoes in hours and designed software to custom fit shoe designs to consumers’ feet.
 

An organization that has taken the retail world by storm in the past several years just earned another accolade.
 
According to the 2016 BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking released by WPP and Millward Brown, Amazon.com has become the World's Most Valuable Global Retail Brand
 

Drones are getting a lot of attention as a means of delivering products to customers. However, Walmart is reportedly testing the applicability of drones a little further back in the supply chain.

By removing manual effort from the checkout and cash management processes in stores, Sunbury, Pennsylvania-based supermarket chain Weis Markets Inc. is making shopping easier.

Weis Markets has signed an agreement with Balance Innovations to provide its vbScout self-checkout management solution in all stores offering self-checkout, as well as VeriBalance currency management software and vbInSight corporate reporting software in all 162 stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, New Jersey and West Virginia.

It’s been a long time, but Rite Aid Corp. is opening a new distribution center.

Located in Spartanburg, South Carolina, the facility is the company’s first new distribution center in 16 years. Rite Aid is currently awaiting regulatory approval for a proposed $17.2 billion merger with Walgreens Boots Alliance.

Galeries Lafayette Group is the latest retail entity to launch its own tech accelerator program.

The French specialty retail conglomerate, which operates the Galeries Lafayette, BHV Marais, Royal Quartz, Louis Pion and Didier Guérin banners, is partnering with Silicon Valley-based technology accelerator and venture fund Plug and Play in the effort. The three-month program aims to develop an integrated platform to assist startups focused on the fashion and retail sectors. It will include access to venture capitalists, mentors, and Fortune 500 companies.