Omnichannel

Somerville, Mass. – Almost all (91%) of marketers either use or intend to use personalization for online customer interactions within the next year. According to a new survey from real-time personalization provider Evergage, nearly one in two marketers surveyed (49%) intends to increase their budgets for personalization in the year ahead, with 80% planning to increase them significantly (by more than 10%).

New York - Fashion retailer Rent the Runway has hired industry veteran Chris Halkyard as the company's first chief logistics officer, effective Aug. 1. In his role, Halkyard will oversee Rent the Runway's logistics platform, including the company's proprietary reverse-logistics operations and transportation network.

New York - Borderfree, provider of international cross-border e-commerce solutions, has expanded its platform to reach more than 220 countries and territories. This expansion of scope includes an additional 120 countries and 15 currencies.

Key emerging luxury markets Borderfree will now sell to include Nigeria and Kazakhstan. Both markets offer opportunities for e-commerce expansion due to increasing smartphone saturation and discretionary spending.

The additional countries will be available to Borderfree customers starting this June.

Fort Worth, Texas -- There was good news in Pier 1 Imports’ first quarter performance, including a 2% increase in same-store sales.

The retailer reported net income of $6.9 million for the quarter, ended May 30, down from $15.1 million in the year-ago period. Its results were in line with expectations.  

Designer clothing and accessories retailer Rent the Runway’s business is dependent on an advanced reverse logistics and transportation network, which is why the company just hired a leading logistic executive from an online competitor.

New York-based Rent the Runway named Chris Halkyard its first ever chief logistics officer to oversee the company’s just-in-time reverse logistics and vertically integrated operating systems.

Montreal - Epicor Retail Solutions has officially launched as an independent company and new brand following its spin-off from Epicor Software Corp. The new company, called Aptos Inc., will focus on delivering a singular commerce platform for seamless customer experiences.

Spartanburg, S.C. – Denny’s is partnering with 20th Century Fox on an omnichannel promotion for the upcoming movie “Fantastic Four.” The Denny’s Instagram channel will be posting a series of exclusive clips for followers throughout the partnership.

Plug and Play brings together retailers and start-ups that offer specific technology and expertise that can relieve merchants’ pain points. Chain Store Age’s Customer Disruption newsletter provides a Q&A with the CEO of one of those companies in each issue. This time, the spotlight is on Will Summerlin of Pinn.

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