Stores Weekly

Age is the leading disparity in the way people view and accept technology, but WD Partners’ Lee Peterson says it’s about more than life stage — digital immigrants, born before the widespread use of technology, generally lack the ability to think and move quickly. The challenge is that many retailers are still acting like digital immigrants, marked by how slowly they adapt.

Visit https://nrf.com/news/what-digital-natives-expect-checkout-experience to view the full article online.

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President and CEO William Dudley offered his views on U.S. consumer behavior over the past decade during a keynote session at Retail’s BIG Show, saying that “there have been some significant changes in the ways households finance their consumption.” Dudley also discussed the impact of these changes on the retail industry.

Visit https://nrf.com/news/whats-holding-down-spending to view the full article online.

We tend to think of positive experiences as only being significant at the moment they happen. James Wright, senior partner of creative consultancy Lippincott, says the anticipation of a happy occurrence — or the warmth of that afterglow — can actually mean more. Is your company investing enough in good vibes?

Visit https://medium.com/nrf-events/the-emotional-side-of-customer-experience-e29ae1840c54#.sytco82k9 to view the full article online.

Retail innovation labs often produce buzzy technology that fails to yield sustainable results, though Kohl’s has proven successful with its initiatives. Ratnakar Lavu, the retailer’s chief technology officer and chief information officer, says artificial intelligence and machine learning — specifically chatbots — have the potential for real impact.

Visit https://nrf.com/news/kohls-omnichannel-innovations to view the full article online.

Favorite restaurants, jeans or top binge-worthy shows can change on a whim; not so for retailers. For the fifth year running, Nordstrom ranked as the nation’s favorite fashion retailer in Market Force’s annual retail industry study, receiving high marks for value, atmosphere and ease of finding items.

Visit https://nrf.com/news/stores-trends-february-2017#Nordstrom to view the full article online.

Hoping to steer some of DieHard’s positive brand energy toward a new venture, Sears recently opened a first-of-its-kind DieHard Auto Center. The San Antonio store leverages interactive in-store merchandise displays and advanced diagnostic technology to help drivers make the right choices for their vehicles.

Visit https://nrf.com/news/stores-trends-february-2017#DieHard to view the full article online.

CEOs from some of the nation’s top retail companies, including Target, Walgreens, Gap and JCPenney, met with President Trump at the White House last week to support tax reform, but oppose House Republicans’ proposed “border adjustment” tax. The meeting came as NRF said comprehensive tax reform is needed but that border adjustment would create a $1 trillion tax on imports that would drive up prices for consumers and cost America jobs.

Visit https://nrf.com/news/retailers-meet-trump-push-tax-reform-block-border-adjustment-0 to view the full article online.

At Retail’s BIG Show last month, the NRF Foundation announced a groundbreaking new training and credentialing program called RISE Up. Addressing the program’s impact on retail and the country’s job force, NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay says it “will provide direct benefits to the U.S. economy, the retail industry and, most importantly, millions of Americans.”

Visit https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/good-jobs-change-lives-matthew-shay to view the full article online.

Five-time NFL MVP Peyton Manning will take the stage at NRF PROTECT Loss Prevention Conference this summer to share real-world leadership insights and what it takes to succeed in a competitive, quickly changing environment. The event will be held June 26-28 in Washington, D.C.

Visit http://nrfprotect.nrf.com/?utm_source=STORES_Weekly&utm_medium=enewsletter&utm_campaign=MK_PROTECT17 to view the full article online.

Tailored Brands Inc., with brands including Men’s Wearhouse, Jos A. Bank, Joseph Abboud, Moores Clothing for Men and K&G Fashion Superstore, has selected the Aptos Sales Audit solution to improve financial visibility and decision-making across its extensive omnichannel retail enterprise.

 

Kustomer, a leader in customer relationship management for support teams, announced a global partnership and integration with Talkdesk, a leading contact center software provider. Companies can now utilize the powerful cloud-based call-center capabilities of Talkdesk to seamlessly integrate call activity from support teams and voice functionality directly inside the Kustomer platform.

 

First Insight, the world’s leading provider of solutions that empower brands to incorporate the voice of the customer into the design and merchandising of new products, today announced a partnership agreement with Etam, a leading international lingerie retailer.

 

HighJump, a global provider of supply chain network solutions, has acquired RedTail Solution Inc., a leading U.S. provider of managed cloud service solutions for electronic data interchange and global data synchronization network to mid-size suppliers and manufacturers.

 

First Data, a global leader in commerce-enabling technology, and ShopKeep, a cloud-based technology solution that transforms an iPad into a smart, connected cash register, announced a partnership that expands their existing relationship. ShopKeep will integrate with First Data’s Clover platform as part of First Data’s recently announced Integrated Solutions Group.

 

Wigwam has chosen to partner with Promoboxx, a leading digital marketing platform, to arm local retailers with branded digital content they can use to engage with their customers. Promoboxx enables retailers to easily promote Wigwam marketing content via social media, email, websites, landing pages, mobile and more.