Direct To Consumer (DTC)

Patricia Whisler played a key role in the success of The Buckle but now she is stepping down from a key role in the apparel and accessories retailer’s merchandising organization.

The Buckle, Inc. has announced that Whisler, senior VP of Women’s Merchandising, will retire from her position with the company later this spring.

Athletic wear giant Under Armour plans to open some 200 store in 2016, according to The Street. While the brand did not comment, the report said the expansion would likely include a mixture of store types, including outlet locations, “Brand House” stores, (the company’s full-price, experiential format) and in-store shops. [The Street]

Consumer interest in wearables is booming for reasons that retailers should find encouraging.

New research from Mintel reveals that the U.S. wearable technology market is experiencing unprecedented growth, with estimated sales increasing 186% from 2014-2015, reaching $7 billion in 2015.

And despite just one in 10 consumers owning a fitness tracker (12%) or smartwatch (7%), 16% of consumers said they planned to purchase a fitness tracker or smartwatch in the final three months of 2015.

RadioShack has lost its CEO after he served only nine months on the job.

A specialty retailer whose tagline is “Where America is made,” is betting on brick and mortar to tell its brand story and provide more jobs.

Shinola, the Detroit-based retailer and manufacturer of pricey watches, leather goods and bicycles plans to open 10 stores this year, and 12 to 15 stores annually over the next coming years.

Dov Charney, founder and outsted CEO of American Apparel, made an emotional—and meandering—plea to regain control of the company at a bankruptcy court hearing in Delaware on Thursday.

“I’m a merchant, I’m a creative artist, I’m a photographer, I’m a marketer, I’m an industrialist,” Charney said, according to the New York Times. “I don’t want to hand over my company. This is coercion.”

Amazon.com is getting its nose out of books and consumer electronics and into a more fashionable merchandise area.

According to Re/Code, Amazon now offers more than 30 million apparel and accessory items for sale – which totals more than all the products sold at 250 Walmart supercenter stores.

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2016 will be a year when many niche innovations in customer experience will become mainstream as consumers expect more out of their shopping experiences, forcing traditional retailers to step up or risk becoming irrelevant. Marketplace buzzwords and emerging trends, such as personalization and seamless mobile access, will become table-stake elements of the customer experience.

Here are ways retailers will take their customer experience to the next level:

Personalization