The economy doesn’t typically play a large role in rates of shoplifting, says Read Hayes, co-director of the Loss Prevention Research Team at University of Florida. “Theft is normally a commercial venture to fulfill personal greed,” he says.

As the third-generation owner of independent retailer Mrs. G, Debbie Schaeffer is tasked with maintaining the company’s strong tradition of customer service, product selection and community support while rebranding and refreshing the business for the next generation of home appliance shoppers.

Most online retailers put a lot of effort into enticing shoppers before a sale — once the sale is finalized, though, the efforts stop. Realizing the opportunity to improve customer relations, Urban Decay embarked on a post-purchase campaign that resulted in increased sales.

The digital age brought new challenges to HHGregg, which has always focused on superior customer service. A new customer experience platform allows the electronics retailer to use detailed consumer surveys to cut through raw data and boost revenues and loyalty.

Paint retailer Dunn-Edwards wanted to increase its digital in-store footprint to address consumer needs. The increased bandwidth needed for tools like videos for do-it-yourselfers and employee training came from switching to a cloud-based, software-defined wide area network.

Retailers including Loft, Overstock and REI are helping consumers donate used clothing and household items. The partnership with Goodwill Industries lets shoppers fill empty boxes from online orders with charitable donations and ship them to Goodwill for free.

As 2016 was ending, Amazon filed a patent for what’s being described as a super-drone consisting of smaller drones stuck together that can carry virtually any size, weight or quantity of items or travel longer distances. The drones could fly together somewhere, then decouple to make individual deliveries.

The digital edition of STORES’ February/March 2017 issue is now available! The magazine is packed with must-read pieces including the articles featured here.

Marisa Thalberg, chief marketing officer at Taco Bell, leads the team responsible for creative ideas like last Cinco de Mayo’s hit Snapchat filter that turned users’ heads into hard-shell tacos. NRF spoke with Thalberg about engaging with customers in today’s digital landscape, redefining the way society looks at juggling a career and motherhood and raising the bar for marketing innovation at Taco Bell.

NRF has adopted Shop.org as the name of its annual e-commerce conference, which was previously known as Retail’s Digital Summit. Shop.org will deliver insights into the future of digital retail and demonstrate how they are applicable in today’s marketplace, as more than 4,000 retailers gather at the Los Angeles Convention Center, September 25-27.

Retailers want real but achievable health care reform now rather than waiting for a perfect bill later, and the AHCA provides that opportunity. With the House set to vote this week on whether to “repeal and replace” Obamacare, NRF’s Neil Trautwein looks at the legislation that is up for consideration and what impact it would have on the industry.

Lenta, one of the largest retail chains in Russia and widely regarded for innovative pricing solutions and the use of data-driven insights to provide relevant offers, has selected Revionics’ science-based price optimization capabilities.

First Insight Inc., announced an agreement with Pier 1 Imports Inc., a leading retailer of exclusive home décor and furniture. Using First Insight’s consumer-driven predictive analytics, Pier 1 Imports will be able to more quickly and accurately make design, buying and pricing decisions as well as evaluate opportunities for new product launches.

Dassault Systèmes, a 3D software design company, announced a partnership with Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd. (ABFRL), India’s largest fashion and lifestyle company. Aditya selected the “My Collection” Consumer Goods + Retail industry solution experience to accelerate the time to market of its fashion collections.

Nordstrom has selected Infor Rhythm for Commerce to support the company’s point-of-sale system in the cloud, giving Nordstrom the tools to be more accurate and consistent across multiple locations, attend to customers more quickly and better manage and track information.

PredictSpring has partnered with Charlotte Russe to launch a mobile app, which has already received over 1 million downloads.

Newgistics, a leading provider of end-to-end commerce solutions, announced that Solstice Sunglasses has selected its digital commerce platform, ncommerce, to power its e-commerce website.

Delhaize America has selected RELEX Solutions’ supply chain planning solutions to forecast and replenish perishable categories within its distribution centers.

Neighborhood warehouse and grocery store Smart & Final has extended its investment in Symphony GOLD, adding next generation category management, store replenishment, vendor portal, retail pricing and store mobility solutions.