News

New York -- Spanish apparel giant Inditex, plans to have radio frequency identification technology in place in its nearly 2,000 Zara stores around the globe by 2016. The technology has already been installed at all of Zara's distribution centers and at more than 700 Zara stores.

Green Bay, Wis. — Shopko launched on Thursday its new fashion blog, TREND.spire, which takes current looks for women, all available at Shopko and Shopko.com, and illustrates how to pull everything together.

The fashion blog at trendspire.shopko.com is updated weekly and a video, with a sneak peek of just some of the outfits, can be found here. Even more inspiration and information will be on Shopko's Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram pages.  

By Jonathan Marek, senior VP, Applied Predictive Technologies

Seattle - Starbucks Coffee Co. is reportedly planning to pilot mobile ordering in an undisclosed U.S. geographic location before the end of 2014. According to Re/Code, the pilot will let consumers place orders through the Starbucks mobile app.

Starbucks definitely intends to roll out mobile ordering chain-wide at some point, and has created a cross-departmental team to work on issues such as how long a hot beverage can stay warm. The retailer expects the program to boost customer loyalty.

Ann Arbor, Mich. – Almost nine-in-10 (88%) of consumers consider speed of delivery to be more important during the holiday season than at any other time of the year. According to the Holiday Fulfillment Report from CFI Group and EBay Enterprise that surveyed more than 500 consumers, 96% of respondents said guaranteed delivery dates are important when choosing which online retailer to purchase from.

New York – Rob Brown, an actor best known for his role on the HBO series “Treme,” has reportedly settled a discrimination lawsuit against Macy’s and the city of New York. According to Reuters, Brown’s suit accused three Macy’s security guards in a New York store of handcuffing him, publicly accusing him of credit card fraud, and marching him through the store before harassing and mocking him in a detention cell for an hour in a June 2013 incident.

Naperville, Ill. – Arba Retail Systems has released a new mobile POS solution. Built specifically for Microsoft Surface tablet series, this retail management software is compatible with the latest Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Tablet.

The retail version is designed for both single unit and chain stores. The software is built on the latest Microsoft technologies — .NET and MS SQL Server, and compatible with the Windows 8 OS.

Oakley describes its new Fifth Avenue flagship as a “disruptive display of science wrapped in art.”

From its tectonic-plated exterior to its floating digital ceiling, the store dazzles with its combination of technological innovation and customization.

Shoemaker Steve Madden is partnering with omnichannel personalization company Certona to tailor shoppers’ experiences online.

“We are proud to add Steve Madden to our roster of fashion clients,” Certona CEO Meyar Sheik said. “Certona will enable Steve Madden to best connect and engage with their loyal community while delivering the most personalized customer experiences across their touchpoints.”