Data & Analytics

Tech Insights: Omnichannel Bots Are in Your Future
As recently as the 1990s, the only real form of text-based communication with customers was via email. Today, consumers have a range of social platforms they use to effortlessly communicate — and they expect their shopping experiences to be effortless and, more importantly, seamless across channels as well.
Macy’s celebrates Earth Day with solar deployments
The nation’s largest department store has increased its deployment of renewable energy. Macy's Inc. said it installed 21 solar energy systems during the past year at Macy's and Bloomingdale's locations in seven states, totaling 15 meg-awatts. The deployments were done in partnership with SunPower. Elec-tricity generated by the new solar power systems will ultimately be sold to others.

Fashion retailer closing all stores

It’s curtain time for Bebe Stores — or at least its brick-and-mortar operations.
Longtime Target exec to leave

Target Corp. is losing a senior digital executive. Casey Carl, chief innovation and strategy officer, is leaving the retailer, effective May 5. His departure, first reported by The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, comes as the chain has been reducing some of its innovation initiatives, including a store of the future with robots, to focus on efforts that have a faster payback.
Amazon heads Down Under

The Australian retail marketplace is in for a huge shake-up. Amazon is preparing to operate an online store in Australia, offering the country’s consumers access to more categories. Amazon already sells Kindle e-books and readers, Audible audiobooks, and online shoppers can also download apps, but this move will bring “a retail offering to Australia,” according to the e-retailer.
Beauty start-up turns profitable

Birchbox is no longer in the red. The online subscription beauty retailer has achieved profitability, MediaPost reported, and is returning to television advertising with a spot that speaks to the joy the company’s monthly beauty box brings to its customers. Founded in 2010, Birchbox had a tough 2016 during which it cut costs and laid off staff. But investments in technology and automation have helped it turn a corner.
Millennials rank their 10 favorite brands

For millennial shoppers, Victoria’s Secret is tops, followed by Sephora and Nike. That’s according to a report from Conde Nast Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which surveyed the popularity of brands among millennial shoppers, reported Bloomberg.
Two menswear brands step up digital personalization

Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank are not just enhancing customer experiences across their websites — they are personalizing them.
Study: Even millisecond delays impact customer engagement, revenue

The user experience is critical to e-commerce success, a factor that makes snafus in Web performance unacceptable. Performance is so critical that even a 100-millisecond delay in website load time can hurt conversion rates by 7%. Meanwhile, a two-second delay in Web page load time increase bounce rates by 103%, according to the “State of Online Retail Performance,” a report from Akamai Technologies.
Study: Customized, enterprise-wide plans fight cyberthreats

Senior executives must be ready to tackle the legal and business risks associated with cyberthreats — even before they happen. This means companies must establish enterprise-wide tactics to identify risks, appraise response metrics and apply company-specific risk mitigation strategies, according to the “2017 Data Security Incident Response Report,” from BakerHostetler. The study analyzed more than 450 cyber incidents that the firm handled last year.
VF Corp. CIO to retire

VF Corp. is getting a new technology leader. Martin Schneider, the company’s VP and CIO will retire at the end of 2017. Sandra Harris, VP, global business technology, will succeed Schneider as VP and CIO, effective Jan. 1, 2018. Harris also has been appointed to VF’s senior leadership team.
UPS uses beacons to quell shipping errors

UPS is taking steps to improve order accuracy. A new program called Preload Smart Scan notifies workers if they have placed an item in the wrong delivery vehicle. Historically, these snafus forced drivers to travel miles out of their way to correct the mistakes.