News

Wayfair app brings products to life right in shoppers’ hands
While some retailers struggle with mobile’s limited “real estate,” Wayfair sees it as a window of “shopping” opportunity. The home décor pure play launched View in Room, a new feature within its mobile app that lets shoppers see furniture and décor in their homes before they buy. The new feature places two-dimensional (2-D) product images in any room through the camera of iOS and Android mobile devices.
Mobility pushes Neiman Marcus to up its networking game
Digital disruptors continue to change the pace of retail — and Neiman Marcus is ready. Like many retailers, the luxury department store chain continues to introduce more mobile technology at store-level, a move that supports both in-store operations and consumer-driven tasks, from browsing through procurement. “It is a trend that requires our network to be a mission-critical lifeline at every store,” said Scott Emmons, head of the Neiman Marcus Innovation Lab (iLab).

Ulta turns mobile app into ‘Glam Lab’

Selfies are taking on a new role when it comes to driving the guest experience at Ulta Beauty. With e-commerce sales jumping 59.1% for the third quarter — on top of 56.3% growth last year — the beauty retailer is pulling out all of the stops when it comes to evolving and upgrading the guest experience. Once of the company’s newest initiatives is its Glam Lab.
Manhattan jewelry flagship transports shoppers to Bali

Luxury jewelry brand John Hardy evokes its Balinese roots at its new, multi-sensory flagship in Manhattan’s SoHo.
Report: Online retailers continue to move to brick-and-mortar

There is one trend from the past couple of years shows no signs of stopping anytime soon: the movement of online-only retailers to the physical space. If anything, it’s gaining more momentum. According to JLL’s Screens to Stores report, even more online retailers will experiment with physical locations in the next five years.
Walmart tests convenience-store format with online grocery pickup service

Walmart has opened a 4,000-sq.-ft. format that offers pick-up of online grocery orders and a convenience store that also sells snacks, beverages and more. The 4,000-sq.-ft. location, in Thornton, Colorado, also has on-site gaso-line station, the Denver Business Journal reported.
Study: Chatbots rule customer service efforts

Automated interaction is increasingly preferred by digital shoppers — and demand is increasing. Specifically, 44% of shoppers said that if a company could get it right, they would prefer to use a chatbot or an automated assistant for customer service interaction — up four points from the 2015 survey. Half of them said that they would rather conduct all brand interaction via text/messaging, with 39% saying the digital-first methods are more effective than talking.
Walmart settles same-sex spouse benefits discrimination suit

Walmart has agreement to a settlement in a lawsuit that accused the retailer of discrimination against gay employees who were unable to get healthcare coverage for their same-sex spouses. Under the terms of the proposed agreement, the discounter will set aside $7.5 million to compensate the employees affected by the denial of spousal benefits from 2011 to 2014. (Walmart changed its policy to include same-sex spouses on Jan. 1, 2014, shortly after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage.)
Report: Search dominated Thanksgiving weekend sales decisions

With many Thanksgiving weekend digital purchases stemming from searches, the convenience of mobility is helping to drive this uptick. That’s according to the “2016 Search Spend and Purchase Report,” from NetElixir. The study analyzing more than 11 million visits across four different verticals (food and gourmet, consumer electronics, apparel and gifting), starting on Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday.
Tech Bytes: Want to succeed this holiday season? Build up the ‘team’

Clearly, Cyber Week’s promotions helped to produce record-breaking sales — but discounts alone won’t drive success this holiday season. Let’s face it — even the best deals won’t matter if a retailer doesn’t have those highly-coveted Hatchimals or wireless Dr. Dre Beats in-stock and ready to be shipped in record-time. This battle will be won with a focused staff that is trained and ready to handle an onslaught of incoming orders; respond to customer questions and efficiently fulfill orders.