Artificial Intelligence

By Steven Boon, steven.boon@galleria-rts.com

As retailers strive to be competitive in the current economic environment, many are considering the use of new software solutions to more effectively identify their customers’ wants and desires – and better determine what products they need to have on their store shelves to maximize sales and minimize wastage.

MINNEAPOLIS — While it may seem strange that a former Starbucks executive has been tapped to head Best Buy's digital and global business services, a closer look reveals Best Buy brewed a perfect fit.

Minneapolis -- Best Buy Co. said Friday it has named Stephen Gillett as executive VP and president of Best Buy Digital and Global Business Services, effective March 14.

Gillett was previously executive VP Digital Ventures, and chief information officer at Starbucks, charged with leading the company’s efforts to enhance the overall global business operations and improve the customer experience through the use of innovative technology and digital experiences worldwide.

Why has Google arguably become the most popular advertising platform on the planet, attracting a whopping $36.5 billion in ad spending in 2011?  And why has Facebook, with an expected IPO valuation of around $100 billion, become such a juggernaut in digital marketing?

The short answer is both Internet platforms combine huge audiences and some capacity to understand individual preferences (based on online behavior and conversation) in order to help brands engage the right consumers with more relevant advertising content and dialogues. 

Dallas -- Neiman Marcus said Thursday that it is testing a new iPhone-only app that allows customers to interact directly with their sales associates.

The new app, NM Service, is being tested in four stores this spring — in Austin, Texas; Dallas; San Francisco; and Palo Alto, Calif.

Youngstown, Ohio -- Cafaro Co. announced that it will make Me-Ality (Measured Reality) available at its South Hill Mall, in Puyallup, Wash., and Eastwood Mall, in Niles, Ohio.

Me-Ality is a free service that uses cutting-edge technology to precisely determine a customer’s exact body measurement and provide a list of recommendations of where to find the best-fitting apparel to flatter that body.

BENSALEM, Pa. — Charming Shoppes is making it easier than ever for women to design and share their favorite looks. On the heels of the successful launch of their new fit and style technology, Fashion Genius, Lane Bryant and its sister brands Catherines, Fashion Bug and Sonsi have further enabled the customer's shopping experience by enabling women to build personalized outfits based on their Fashion Genius fit and style profile, share their outfit creations across their preferred social network and vote for their favorite customer created looks.

It’s a safe bet that Andrew Pole will never talk to another reporter after the treatment he and Target received in a piece in the Feb.16 edition of The New York Times with the headline, “How companies learn your secrets.”