TECHNOLOGY

Deloitte: Back-to-college spend to outpace back-to-school sales two-fold
Retailers who fail to promote back-to-college offers and savings this year do so at their own peril.
Target CEO: Hispanics are shopping less
An important demographic for many retailers appears to be staying home more these days. In remarks at Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech Conference in Aspen, Colorado, Target CEO Brian Cornell cited an 11% dip in shopping activity among Hispanic consumers in the past several months. (A Target spokesman said later he was referencing industrywide data from the NPD Group, The Star-Tribune reported.) “There’s almost a cocooning factor,” Cornell said.

HRC: Discounter tops with Gen Z for back-to-school shopping

Gen Z shoppers are gearing up to hit the stores for back-to-school purchases — and their top destination is Walmart. Thirty-six percent of boys and girls cite Walmart as their first choice for back-to-school shopping, more than double that of any other retailer, according to a survey conducted by strategic retail advisory firm HRC Retail Advisory.
Online giant quietly launches meal kits

Amazon isn’t wasting any time in entering the booming meal kit category.
The top back-to-school shopping day will be...
Online giant blending offline and online grocery — and it's not Amazon

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has stepped up its efforts to combine physical retail with online in the supermarket space.
Study: The most sought-after roles to transform operations are…

Businesses are eager to better serve their clients, but most lack the skills, processes and technology needed to leverage data effectively. In fact, 61% of U.S. companies agree that inaccurate data is undermining their ability to provide an excellent customer experience, according to “Investing in Digital Transformation: The Year’s Most Sought-After Data Roles,” a report from Experian Data Quality.
Women's fitness concept closing up shop

Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. is shutting down its women's fashion/fitness store format. Dick's is closing its two existing Chelsea Collective stores on August 6. Dick's launched the brand in 2015, but it never expanded it in any signficiant way.
Survey: Fast response times critical to customer experience and brand loyalty

Retailers who frustrate consumers risk brand abandonment. Almost half of North American and European consumers surveyed by the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council say they will abandon a brand if they continuously encounter a poor, impersonal or frustrating customer experience across channels of engagement. The study was undertaken in partnership with SAP Hybris.
Home goods retailer inspires shoppers through AI, social media

West Elm is upping the ante on how it recommends merchandise to customers. The company, a division of Williams-Sonoma, introduced a new online tool that utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) to detect customers’ style patterns and connect them with products they can buy at West Elm stores and online. Called the Pinterest Style Finder, the tool is powered by Clarifai’s image and video recognition AI technology.