While fraud is a risk assumed by merchants of all shapes and sizes, the nature of ecommerce adds a dimension of intrigue. The inability to physically see the customer, the anonymity of the online world and the ever-growing sophistication of criminals consistently present special challenges.

As retailers continue to generate increasingly vast amounts of data through new point-of-sale systems, many are upgrading infrastructure to process it all. For a quick-serve restaurant franchiser with several hundred locations, the ability to capture, manage and use data across the organization can ultimately lead to big improvements in the bottom line.

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.

When Christian Louboutin wanted to promote its expansion into beauty, it offered a pop-up nail bar at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Paris. The 2017 stunt proved so successful that the 2018 summer brought a repeat.

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.

Fourth-generation retailer and Sur La Table CEO Billy May joins this episode of NRF’s Retail Gets Real podcast to discuss how the combination of product, experience service and expertise sets the cooking and culinary retailer apart. May also explains how he intends to bring the physical store’s “browse and discover” experience to the digital world.

Schaefer’s TV and Appliance in Lincoln, Neb., has been open since 1946 and employs 90 full-time employees. Owner Ron Romero says he’s seen the cost of appliances increase already, and he expects new tariffs to cause additional increases that will ultimately hurt consumers.

From its origins as a single shoe store in downtown Seattle to its new men’s-only store in New York and Nordstrom Local stores in California, Nordstrom has focused on customer service as a differentiator. During a keynote address at NRF 2019: Retail’s Big Show, Jamie Nordstrom, president of Nordstrom Stores, will discuss the company’s industry-leading innovations to serve customers no matter how they choose to shop.

Bazaarvoice Inc. has been selected by Walmart as a trusted, industry-leading provider of user-generated content solutions. As part of Walmart’s official Connected Content Partner Program, Bazaarvoice will help suppliers collect and display valuable online ratings and reviews, which help shoppers make their purchase decisions both online and in-store.

Robert Herjavec, founder and CEO of Herjavec Group and Shark on ABC's Emmy Award-winning hit show "Shark Tank," announced a collaboration between Happy Feet and Disney. Happy Feet will produce a robust line of plush slippers and proprietary footwear for Disney and Disney•Pixar brands, which includes Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Nightmare Before Christmas, Winnie the Pooh, Disney Princess, Frozen, Toy Story 4 and many more.

Studio Proper, a retail solutions hardware provider, is partnering with UNTUCKit, one of the nation’s fastest growing menswear retailers, to reimagine what point-of-sale transactions look like in their stores.

Authentic Brands Group LLC, a global brand development, marketing and entertainment company, has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase a majority stake in the intellectual property of the Camuto Group’s proprietary brands in partnership with DSW Inc., a leading North American footwear and accessories retailer.

Walgreens will partner with Birchbox and take a minority stake in the digital beauty subscription company. The pilot program will start in 11 Walgreens stores in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis and New York.

Takeoff Technologies, an eGrocery solution that empowers retailers to attain profitable online growth by leveraging automation at a hyperlocal scale, announced the launch of the first automated hyperlocal fulfillment center — referred to as the world’s first robotic supermarket — in partnership with one of the largest Hispanic grocers in the U.S., Sedano’s Supermarkets.

Jetson announced the release of its intelligent, voice-commerce ordering app, Jetson Voice Assistant, now available for consumers to download on the App Store. The “voice first” ordering solution enables customers to order from restaurants conversationally, compared to using a screen.

Sitecore, the global leader in digital experience management software, announced the acquistion of Stylelabs, creator of the Marketing Content Hub platform, and revealed significant new capabilities in their Sitecore Experience Cloud platform.

Mirakl will partner with SAP, making the software provider an official reseller of the Mirakl Marketplace Platform. Through this partnership, SAP will offer its customers the ability to quickly launch marketplaces, rapidly onboard new sellers, and easily map new products and categories to catalog taxonomies.

VF Corporation, a global leader in branded lifestyle apparel, footwear and accessories, has entered into a definitive agreement to sell the Reef brand to The Rockport Group of Newton, Mass. A leading maker of casual and dress shoes, Rockport is a portfolio company of Charlesbank Capital Partners LLC, a middle-market private equity firm.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc., in partnership with licensing agent Brand Activation Consulting, has launched new, D-I-Y plush sets and a mini blind-box plush collection from licensee Just Play, a leader in the children's consumer goods industry, both of which are on shelves now exclusively at U.S. Walmart stores and Walmart.com. The Just Play D-I-Y Build-A-Bear Workshop Rainbow Bear and Pink Kitty plush sets include a 10" furry friend, stuffing, a heart locket, a birth certificate, a fashion outfit and accessories.

Destination Maternity Corporation has retained Great American Group to assist the company in the strategic rationalization of its overall store inventory and product cycle.

Herlitz Inventory Management, a leading innovator in scientific demand forecasting, replenishment and optimization, announced its selection by Maurice Sporting Goods, a fishing, marine, hunting and outdoor recreation supplier to retailers.

XPO Logistics Inc., a leading global provider of transportation and logistics solutions, plans to deploy 5,000 intelligent robots throughout its logistics sites in North America and Europe. The robots, which are designed to collaborate with humans, will supplement XPO’s existing workforce and support future growth.

RevCascade, a dropship technology platform that enables any retailer to launch, operate and scale customizable dropship programs, is launching the RevCascade Extended Aisle Program. Through a partnership with Wondersign, an interactive kiosk company, the program will bring drop shipping to thousands of bricks-and-mortar furniture stores across the country, with a beta program launching in Q4 2018.

First Insight Inc., a global technology company transforming how leading retailers make product investment and pricing decisions, announced a multi-year expansion of their partnership with DICK'S Sporting Goods, the largest U.S.-based, full-line omnichannel sporting goods retailer.

iFresh Inc., a leading Asian American grocery supermarket chain and online grocer, announced that UnionPay will be accepted in iFresh stores across the United States.

Brooks Brothers, the oldest clothing retailer in the U.S., selected Manhattan Associates Inc. to improve contact center operations and deliver a seamless omnichannel shopping experience for customers worldwide. New York-based Brooks Brothers is deploying Manhattan Active Omni to fuel its “buy anywhere, get anywhere” customer experience platform across its full network of 300 retail locations.

Geoffrey LLC, Toys "R" Us Inc.'s intellectual property holding company subsidiary, will move forward with a plan for a group of investors led by Geoffrey LLC's existing secured lenders to acquire substantially all of its assets. The new company is "in discussions with very interested parties about how the company could look in the future."