Merchants have long known that store music affects shopper behavior, but now there’s increasing consideration of music as content — a proactive part of branding. The director of digital experience for clothing retailer Charlotte Russe, which added music to its app with the help of Feed.fm, says it’s all about relevance.

With nearly 200 stores and an ecommerce website, LifeWay needed an updated merchandising system to support its growth and the ability to integrate local information. A system from RELEX offered not only a “single version of the truth,” says LifeWay’s merchandising head, but also mobile capabilities.

Dermstore, a wholly owned subsidiary of Target Corporation since 2013, turned to Custora to help deliver true one-on-one personalization to its customers. The platform, which integrates marketing tools, allows the skin care and beauty retailer to reach the right customer with the right message at the right time.

The uptick in organized retail crime is responsible for the changing landscape of retail shrinkage; according to the 2017 National Retail Security Survey, shoplifting has exceeded employee theft as the largest component of overall shrinkage. Information sharing is critical to combat ORC, since criminal rings often operate over several jurisdictions.

Starship’s semi-autonomous delivery robot, outfitted with nine cameras and ultrasonic sensors to detect obstacles, can carry up to 20 pounds of cargo at speeds up to 10 miles per hour. The company began testing last year in selected European cities and launched pilot projects in Washington, D.C., and California in February.

Mars Inc.’s new Cocoa Exchange allows independent “curators” to hold artisanal chocolate parties. Home party experiences include Pod & Bean, which features chocolate as an ingredient in sauces, rubs and glazes. Product sales support female cocoa farmers in Côte d’Ivoire through CARE.

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“When you think of our organization, it’s all encompassing, and it can be literally anything from data science to merchants to analysts to consumer insights,” says Trey Stewart, manager of talent acquisition for The Home Depot, about the kinds of jobs the company needs to fill. On Retail Gets Real, Stewart and Brack Sullivan, senior manager of corporate talent acquisition, join the NRF podcast hosts to share how the home improvement giant attracts top talent.

Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin were two young NBC news producers when they started theSkimm, a news-roundup email designed to keep time-starved Millennials in the know. Since then, the company has grown to more than 50 employees and 25,000 “Skimm’bassadors” (fans who help promote the brand), and offers a mobile app and a new video series where celebrities deliver theSkimm from the tub.

NRF told Congress Monday that lawmakers need to lower the nation’s corporate tax rate in order to remain competitive in the global economy and keep high taxes from hampering job creation. In a letter to the Senate Finance Committee, NRF Senior Vice President for Government Relations David French called tax reform “vitally important to the U.S. economy,” saying it would have “an immediate positive impact on economic growth, real wages and consumer spending.”

Kohl’s announced that 82 stores across Los Angeles and Chicago will be offering free, convenient returns for Amazon customers starting in October. Kohl’s will pack and ship eligible Amazon return items for free, providing an additional service and convenience to Amazon customers within select Kohl’s stores. Beginning in October, Amazon will set up 1,000-square-foot showrooms of its smart home products inside 10 Kohl’s stores in the Los Angeles and Chicago areas.

Allied Wallet, a provider of online payment processing offering various payment solutions in 196 countries all over the world, has partnered with UnionPay International to issue a UnionPay branded prepaid card, the first-ever partnership of this kind in Europe.

Overstock.com Inc. has launched augmented reality within the retailer’s iOS shopping app. Shoppers using a cell phone or tablet with iOS11 can launch the AR experience directly from the retailer’s app, which features only true-to-life-size 3D models in the highest resolution, giving shoppers the most accurate representation of the product as possible so they can see exactly how it will fit in their room. Similarly, Wayfair Inc. added an augmented reality feature to its mobile shopping app, allowing shoppers to view 3D images of furniture and décor projected onto its Apple device’s view of a space.

Gerrity’s Supermarkets now offers deliveries powered by Rosie to 25 ZIP codes in Pennsylvania. Customers will benefit from new tools and features to make shopping online simpler and more enjoyable than before.

Beyond Meat, a leader in plant-based protein, announced the soft launch of the groundbreaking Beyond Burger at participating TGI Fridays restaurants in the greater Boston area. On the opposite coast, burger restaurant The Counter began serving the highly anticipated Impossible Burger at all outlets throughout California. It will be available in all U.S. locations of The Counter by the end of this year.

Office Depot Inc. announced that Jerri DeVard, a senior executive with more than 30 years of extensive marketing and leadership experience at large global brands, has joined the organization as executive vice president and chief marketing officer.

TrueCommerce, a global provider of trading partner connectivity and integration solutions, has acquired Datalliance, the world’s largest provider of technology and services, to support collaborative replenishment programs such as vendor managed inventory and related business needs.