Artificial Intelligence

Leading diamonds and fine jewelry online retailer Blue Nile has added Scott Howe to its board of directors, effective Jan. 1, 2014. Howe is president and CEO of Acxiom Corporation, an enterprise data, analytics and software-as-a-service company.

Prior to his current role, Howe was corporate VP of Microsoft Advertising Business Groups, where he managed a multibillion-dollar business encompassing all emerging businesses related to online advertising including search, display, in-game, mobile, digital cable and a variety of enterprise software applications.

Lover.ly, a wedding inspiration and shopping site, has appointed founder of Nordstrom.com Bob Schwartz as the company’s first chairman.

As chairman, Schwartz will work closely with founder and CEO Kellee Khalil and the Lover.ly executive team to help shape the company’s long-term strategic growth, business and partnership development, capital strategy and build out Lover.ly’s brand and product pipelines.

Macy's has integrated NantMobile’s iD visual recognition technology into its Star Gifts app to allow customers to shop on the go from catalogs, billboards and magazine ads.

Hointer converges mobile and in-store shopping

Hointer Inc., a Seattle-based denimwear retailer, may be new (the first store opened in April 2012) and small (two branded stores in Seattle plus a pop-up inside a Levi’s store in New York City), but its goal is impressively large.

Changes to California’s Title 24 tighten building energy-efficiency standards

California leads the nation in efforts to conserve energy, and it shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. Changes to the state’s mandatory Title 24 Building Energy Efficiency standards — changes that will make commercial buildings 30% more efficient than the previous 2008 standards — are scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2014.

New York -- Talking mannequins almost steal the show at the exhibition, “The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk,” which opened recently at The Brooklyn Museum in New York City.  

It’s 2020, and our shopper is ready to relax after a busy and productive Saturday. She started off the day at Kohl’s, where she tried on several cocktail dresses a store associate had texted her about earlier. The associate knew from past purchases that our shopper favored animal prints and a-line cuts.

Sunglass Hut, LensCrafters optimize endless aisle with caching solution

Providing in-store customers with enhanced online “endless aisle” access to products can boost sales and customer service. But if the wait for endless aisle connectivity takes too long, its effectiveness is impacted.