Artificial Intelligence

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.  

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.  

As we move into the new year, it’s time to look ahead and predict what’s in store for the retail industry as it races to stay relevant in the Age of Amazon.    Here are five predictions to keep an eye on in 2017:   

A futuristic delivery service is now up and running in two U.S. cities.   Six-wheeled robots that are a little under 2 ft. tall and travel at walking speed are delivering food in conjunction with Postmates in Washington, D.C., and DoorDash in Redwood City, Calif., according to a report by Recode.   

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.  

Walmart has made some big changes in its executive ranks, bringing together management of its Web and retail teams.     The changes, which the chain has not officially announced, come on the heels of media reports that Karenann Terrell would step down as CIO of Wal-Mart Stores on Feb. 24. As reported by CNBC.com, Walmart’s executive realignment includes the following: