Building a website and launching an online store can be intimidating. That’s particularly true if, like Tiffany McCrary, software and all the associated skills don’t come easy. After trying several web-building platforms without much to show for it, she came upon Wix — and everything changed.

Almost two decades into the 21st century, delivery still seems like something from the 1940s. But it is finally being reinvented, thanks to an innovative venture called Dolly — the brainchild of four frustrated consumers from Chicago, none of whom had backgrounds in logistics or retailing.

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.

It can’t be said that Jack in the Box doesn’t know its target audience. The company, which launched delivery for those late-night munchies, amped things up a notch in a special promotion to mark California’s entry into the legalized cannabis arena.

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.

After over a century, Levi’s remains cool and innovative while at the same time vintage and iconic, appealing to multiple generations at the same time. Joining the Retail Gets Real podcast in his favorite pair of jeans and a new high-tech jacket created in partnership with Google, Levi’s Brand President James Curleigh shares insight into the icon’s reinvention.

As consumer confidence continues to rise, Father's Day spending is expected to total a near-record $15.3 billion this year, according to a study released by NRF and Prosper Insights & Analytics. A total of 77 percent of Americans will celebrate Father's Day and spend an average of $133 per person.

Bourbon and Boweties sells neither alcohol nor neckwear — the name is a nod to the southern aesthetic — but its signature handmade bangles have helped the brand become a multi-million-dollar company. The business’s unique model employs contractors who make the jewelry from their homes. NRF talks with founder and CEO Carley Ochs, an honoree on The List 2018, about what makes the business thrive.

MultimediaPlus — creators of INCITE, an app-based communications platform for the frontline to improve performance — announced that it has been selected by Steve Madden, a leader in fashion-forward footwear. Francesca's has also renewed its contract for an additional five years, signaling its dedication to the INCITE platform.

Amazon.com will open its first fulfillment center in Oklahoma, creating more than 1,500 full-time jobs by the end of 2019. The more than 600,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility will be located in Oklahoma City.

Community financial institutions will soon be on the leading edge of customer experience modernization, thanks to artificial intelligence-based conversational banking being implemented via a partnership between ENACOMM and Data Center Inc. ENACOMM is a fintech company that equips banks, credit unions and credit card companies with solutions for improving the customer experience, fighting financial fraud and increasing operational efficiency. DCI is the privately owned developer of iCore360 core banking software and related technologies that serves over 350 financial institutions throughout the United States.

Women’s lifestyle brand FabFitFun celebrated the launch of its summer box and unveiled a collaboration with Rocky Barnes on a line of beach towels from its Summer & Rose line, at an exclusive event in Los Angeles. The towels are available exclusively to FabFitFun members in the summer box and additional prints can be purchased on summerandrose.com.

Rebecca Minkoff, a maker of affordable luxury handbags, accessories, footwear and apparel, has turned to leading loyalty and customer marketing provider Clutch to establish and operate its first-ever consumer loyalty program for its online customer base in the U.S. As part of its agreement with Rebecca Minkoff, Clutch will complete its comprehensive suite of high-tech services in two phases.

ReposiTrak Inc., an industry leader in compliance, food safety and risk management for the retail supply chain, announced that Forbes Chocolate selected its Compliance & Risk Management suite to reduce risk, decrease supplier documentation handling time and automate compliance at the corporate, facility and item levels.

PCMS, a global provider of retail commerce software and services, announced the hiring of Thomas Schuetz as senior vice president of operations for the Americas. Schuetz brings to PCMS retail IT leadership experience working with companies including Luxottica, hhgregg, Macy’s, Lord & Taylor, May Department Stores, J.Crew, Hudson’s Bay Trading Company.

OutMatch, a leader in delivering actionable predictive analytics to build world-class workforces, has been selected by Cinergy Entertainment Group, a pioneer of the cinema entertainment concept, to provide data-driven assessments that will enable the company to build an exceptional workforce to support its rapid expansion across the Southwest.

The special edition New Nintendo 2DS XL Hylian Shield Edition system will be launching exclusively in GameStop stores on July 2 at a suggested retail price of $159.99.

Como, the award-winning global leader in customer engagement solutions, has partnered with Revel Systems, a feature-rich point-of-sale and complete business management platform, to bring the capabilities and technology behind online giants to bricks-and-mortar businesses across the U.S.

DIRTY LEMON, a direct-to-consumer beverage brand that sells exclusively by text message, announced the acquisition of Poncho, the leading conversational weather service for millennials.