Voice Control

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- Beginning in mid-2014, Domino's customers who have a Pizza Profile on their Domino's mobile app, as well as the Ford SYNC in-car connectivity system, will be able to use Ford SYNC to place their saved 'Easy Order' in just a few simple, voice-activated steps.

Framingham, Mass. -- Staples officially launches Staples Connect, an offering that lets customers’ home or office technology interact and be controlled by a single app. With the touch of a button, in-store and online Nov. 27, Staples Connect lets customers shut down their office, turning off lights, lowering shades and locking doors, while at the same time turning on their lights and heat at home.

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.  

Framingham, Mass. – Staples is introducing Staples Connect, an offering that lets customers’ home or office technology interact and be controlled by a single app. With the touch of a button, Staples Connect lets customers shut down their office, turning off lights, lowering shades and locking doors, while at the same time turning on their lights and heat at home.

Staples has launched Staples Connect, an offering that lets customers’ home or office technology interact and be controlled by a single app. 

With the touch of a button, Staples Connect lets customers shut down their office, turning off lights, lowering shades and locking doors, while at the same time turning on their lights and heat at home.

While the mobile phone serves as a lens to a personalized store experience, moving forward, wearable technologies like Google Glass will take in-store personalization to the next level, Steve Arthur, head of retail industry for Google, told attendees at  the Retailer Roundtable event, sponsored by digital gifting platform provider CashStar. Arthur cautioned that retailers must realize they must deliver consumers the experience they need, rather than what they want, and be prepared for a post-PC world. 

Cherry Hill, N.J. -- A reimagined Build-A-Bear Workshop will open at Cherry Hill Mall this fall in a new 2,000-sq.-ft. location in the J. C. Penney wing. The new design incorporates technology into the personalized stuffed animal-making experience.

St. Louis -- Build-A-Bear Workshop said Monday that it will open 20 to 25 stores in 2013, all under the newly introduced store design.

The retailer opened six stores under the new design in fall 2012, and said the success of the stores prompted an escalated rollout.

The first three stores to open in 2013 are at the Mall of Georgia in Atlanta on April 26; at Orland Square in Chicago on May 3; and at Northshore Mall in Peabody, Mass. on May 10.

Samsung Electronics America announced that its 2013 TVs will begin shipping this month in the United States, beginning with the LED 8000-series and the Plasma 8500-series.

From mobile wallets to QR codes to apps, Macy's is making all the right moves

Mobility is sure to play an increasingly important role in Macy's omnichannel future, both in commerce and marketing. But don't look for the company to take a cookie-cutter approach.