Amazon increased its hold on the top spot in the annual list of shoppers’ most preferred online retailers, as did second- and third-place holders Walmart and Kohl’s. Nordstrom saw the biggest move outside the top 10, growth that is at odds with the other big movers: specialty shops.

With all the news about Amazon over the past few months, Editor Susan Reda encourages retailers to take a leaf from the internet juggernaut: Use data to experiment with new strategies, focus on ways to reshape the customer experience, try new things and fail quickly.

Dave & Buster’s invests regularly in technology like RFID bracelets that allow guests to play games without coins or tokens, but the “good time” energy didn’t extend to the stores’ entry areas. Massive video walls from NEC now show a mélange of clips showing the games inside and people having fun; stores can also display local events and fan messages.

A lack of harsh chemicals isn’t the only thing that separate Madison Reed from other hair color brands. Soliciting feedback from users resulted in a revelation, says founder and CEO Amy Errett; the company reworked packaging, the contents and the entire user experience, down to an extra pair of gloves.

With traditional paper coupons, customers may clip one out and store it away … and then forget about it. A pilot mobile coupon program implemented with Thrive Commerce resulted in a 38 percent redemption rate — more than 75 percent of Shoe Carnival’s stores had coupons redeemed at their locations.

Pixsweet allows customers to upload their own images, choose flavors and easily create custom ice pops. The company is the brainchild of digital sculptor Janne Kyttanen, who has set out to answer “What does the internet taste like?”

The digital edition of STORES includes must-read pieces, including the articles featured here. Read the current issue and browse the archives for issues you may have missed.

As the “retail apocalypse” canard continues to grab the odd headline in the media, the data and the facts consistently tell quite a different story — one of an industry in transition and growing. NRF’s Mark Mathews looks at a recent report from IHL Group that shows a net increase in store openings of over 4,000 in 2017.

Social media can be an important driver for restaurants seeking a loyal customer base — today, review platforms like Open Table and Yelp are “a necessary evil” in the restaurant industry. On this week’s episode of NRF’s Retail Gets Real podcast, the business partners of Southern Hospitality and Scarlet Oak in Washington, D.C., take listeners behind the kitchen door to share how their restaurants have adapted to changing food trends, technology and customer expectations.

Korean beauty brand Soko Glam was created under the personal principles and interests that co-founder Charlotte Cho wanted to share with the world. NRF spoke with Cho about the early stages of her business and its journey to becoming a force to be reckoned with in the beauty industry.

Deliv, a leading same-day delivery company, announced that PetSmart has expanded its collaboration with Deliv to power PetSmart.com’s same-day and scheduled delivery service in 33 top markets across 23 states.

Capgemini, a global leader in consulting and technology services, has signed a multi-year IT strategic provider agreement with McDonald’s Corporation. With support from Publicis.Sapient, another global leader in consulting services, Capgemini will be McDonald’s global IT strategic provider for restaurant and digital capabilities.

Surf lifestyle company Billabong International Limited has selected Aptos Singular Commerce platform to support continuous innovation in omnichannel retailing across its global enterprise. This will enable Billabong to blend its physical and digital retail channels and support orchestration of complex omnichannel journeys through a single view of customers, inventory, orders and more.

Macy’s Inc. announced the expansion of its same-day delivery of products purchased online at macys.com, bloomingdales.com and both brands’ mobile apps. Starting this fall, Macy’s will offer same-day delivery to customers in 15 additional U.S. markets.

Barnes & Noble Education Inc., a provider of educational products and services solutions for higher education and K-12 institutions, has signed a multi-year contract with Eastern Gateway Community College to provide a full suite of solutions, including bookstore operations, an institution-wide learning management system, LoudSight, BNED’s predictive analytics offering, and digital courseware to the students, faculty and advisors of EGCC.

Accenture has signed on as a partner for the 2018 program of the New York Fashion Tech Lab. Founded in 2014 by Springboard Enterprises with the support of major fashion retailers and brands, the NYFTL focuses on women-led emerging tech companies that have developed innovations at the intersection of fashion, retail and technology.

Pep Boys, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Icahn Automotive Group LLC, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Advanced Auto Service & Tire Centers in Phoenix.

Saladworks, one of the nation’s largest fresh-tossed salad franchise concepts based in Conshohocken, Pa., has chosen Dovetail Systems Inc.’s Gusto point-of-sale system as their omnichannel digital platform. Gusto affords Saladworks an enterprise system built to manage and grow their chain by unlocking synergies through a cross-platform customer engagement solution, leveraging a unified online and mobile ordering, in-store kiosk and traditional POS platform.

West Elm, a furnishings retail brand and member of the Williams-Sonoma Inc. portfolio of brands, and Leesa Sleep, a direct-to-consumer online mattress company founded with a powerful social mission, announced a partnership aimed at elevating life through better sleep. Beginning this month, customers can experience Leesa’s American-made and expertly designed mattresses at more than 80 West Elm locations in the United States and online.

At Home, the home décor superstore with 136 large format stores, has turned to Columbus Consulting International for their expertise in merchandise planning and allocation to develop a complete plan for staffing developments and business processes, and to identify the best technology solutions to take their merchandise and allocation strategy to the next level ahead of the holiday season.