Fung Global Research has identified three main applications of AI in retail: personalization, such as recommendations; customer service; and data analytics-enabled inventory management. Fung says AI is not some futuristic technology — it is already widely used, though “the technology tends to have a low profile.”

Rent the Runway began as a high-touch, stylist-focused business that gave customers a chance to enjoy quality apparel without the hefty prices. The brand is still all that, and new rental options and recent technology additions have allowed the couture company to meet customers’ evolving needs without losing its reputation for one-on-one service.

In 2017, consumer packaged goods manufacturers in the United States spent $225 billion on marketing. The largest share went to trade promotion, in which manufacturers offer inducements to retailers to highlight certain products in stores for a certain period. One of the more active product areas in terms of trade promotions is beauty. 

NRF is proud to provide our members with the online Retail Buying Guide to search for trusted vendors, products and services in the retail industry. Our guide is a user-friendly forum designed to bring suppliers and purchasers together. You can search by keyword, location, company name or category. Available whenever you need it, the Retail Buying Guide makes it easy to locate products and professional services geared to the retail industry. Click here to visit the online Retail Buying Guide! To advertise, please contact Sarah Allen for more information.

Perhaps we’ve all been known to peel a label off a beer, but 3 Rios wine encourages it. The Portuguese winemaker's labels feature each of their namesake rivers in a peel-away format that conveys the “story” behind the wine.

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.

The data is in on how retailers are responding to customer demands and where they plan to invest. For one, more brands plan to open stores versus close them this year. Forrester Research’s Sucharita Kodali joins the Retail Gets Real podcast to discuss findings from the 2018 NRF-Forrester research report State of Retailing Online.

CEOs, startup founders and top business personalities will discuss the shifting retail landscape and how to improve the customer experience as more than 2,500 leading members of the retail community gather in Las Vegas, Sept. 12-14, for the Shop.org conference.

Afterpay, a digital platform that offers interest-free installment plans for online purchases, announced its launch into the U.S. Named as one of Australia’s fastest growing fintech companies by IDC, initial retailers integrating its “buy-now, pay-later” platform include leading fashion and lifestyle retailer Urban Outfitters Inc., and its portfolio of global brands including Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie and Free People.

Opterus Inc., a leading global provider of cost-effective, web-based store communications and task management solutions, announced that General Nutrition Centers Inc., a retailer devoted exclusively to helping its customers improve the quality of their lives, has chosen Opterus’ Store Ops-Center for its retail chain of over 4,300 domestic locations.

Chrome River Technologies Inc., a global leader in expense and supplier invoice processing software, announced that Edmonton-based The Little Potato Company will deploy the company’s cloud-based spend management solutions throughout its Canadian and U.S. operations.

Kohl’s announced POPSUGAR at Kohl’s, a new apparel collection to expand the retailer’s millennial brand portfolio launching this September. The innovative POPSUGAR at Kohl’s collection combines trends, media and an agile merchandising model that will use data and analytics to incorporate millennial customer intelligence.

Adobe announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Magento Commerce, a market-leading commerce platform, for $1.68 billion, subject to customary purchase price adjustments. The addition of the Magento Commerce Cloud will enable commerce to be seamlessly integrated into the Adobe Experience Cloud, delivering a single platform that serves both B2B and B2C customers globally.

Dedicated to documenting the sneaker culture, The Shoe Game is expanding its reach by joining digital media coalition Maven. Also known as TSG, The Shoe Game is one of the industry's most influential online sneaker information portals.

Gap Inc. and the United Nations Foundation announced that, for the third consecutive year, they will partner during Pride Month to raise awareness and funds for UN Free & Equal, a global campaign of the UN Human Rights Office to promote equal rights and fair treatment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people globally. The partnership will include a portion of proceeds from sales of special Gap and Banana Republic t-shirts and eGift Cards across Gap Inc. brands to benefit UN Free & Equal.

ParTech Inc., a leading global provider of point of sale (POS) and workforce efficiency solutions to the restaurant and retail industries, announced Duck Donuts has selected PAR’s Cloud-Based Brink POS Software and EverServ 8115 terminals for all of its nearly 200 current locations as well as future stores. Duck Donuts, one of the fastest growing donut franchises in the U.S., specializes in Warm, Delicious and Made-to-Order!^® donuts.