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First Edition

Eyemart Express improves employee training with microlearning platform

The two-year-old partnership between 200-store eyewear retailer Eyemart Express and Axonify’s adaptive, microlearning platform represents a giant step forward for onboarding new employees more quickly and less expensively — as well as significantly reducing turnover — all while offering employees a continuous and more satisfying learning experience.

Sustainable clothing brand Outerknown facilitates cross-border shopping

Reminiscent of how quickly internet shopping emerged to transform the retail scene, cross-border shopping is now creating tremendous opportunities for sales growth while creating new operational challenges that can threaten the bottom line.

Experience the Future of Print

OKI Connected Print offers a dynamic approach to extending printed materials into engaging consumer experiences, linking consumers through their smartphone to rich digital content. The possibilities are endless with OKI Connected Print. Create personal and engaging shopping experiences, print and display signage, and grow your business conveniently all in-store.

To learn more

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.

Trends

Bumble stings with new mag

Forget omnichannel and embrace omnipresent. Bumble, the dating app maker, has become the latest digital brand to expand into a print publication. Bumble Mag, a lifestyle publication in conjunction with Hearst, offers dating, career and friendship advice. The magazine’s sections align with Bumble’s app modes.

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.

NRF News

How Zulily wins as a team

As head of integrated marketing and partnerships, Zulily’s Brian Doherty brings together various departments to create a personalized and compelling online shopping experience that brings customers back every day — even if they’re not necessarily looking to buy anything. On this episode of NRF’s Retail Gets Real podcast, Doherty shares his insights into how the company’s teams work together to create unique experiences using customer data.

Social media is top influencer in Halloween spending

U.S. consumers are looking to social media for Halloween costume and decoration ideas as spending is expected to reach a near-record amount this year, according to NRF’s annual survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics. Total spending is expected to reach $8.8 billion.

For the love of Lilly: How to celebrate and connect with customers

When retailer Lilly Pulitzer turned 60 last year, President Michelle Kelly and her team wanted the anniversary to celebrate the company’s colorful heritage along with what it means to customers today. At the recent NRF NXT conference, Kelly described three ways Lilly Pulitzer leveraged the anniversary to connect with old and new customers in a meaningful way.

Cut TCO by 15% on barcode devices

Retailers have relied on rugged handheld devices for over 30 years to boost efficiency and productivity. All along, devices have suffered from failures due to charging contacts that get dirty, corrode, or break. Wireless charging prevents device failure, drastically reducing TCO. An enterprise can easily reduce TCO by 15% or more deploying wireless charging devices.

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Retail Deals

Wayfair, one of the world’s largest online destinations for the home, has announced a new turnkey solution for customers of its business program, Wayfair Professional, allowing them to purchase complete furnishings and fixtures for pre-designed rooms in just a few clicks.

Inspire Brands, a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes Arby's, Buffalo Wild Wings, SONIC Drive-In and Rusty Taco, has entered into an agreement to acquire Jimmy John’s.

Hot Topic, in an effort to increase insight into store operations and speed up reporting systems, has selected to work with a purpose-built solution by Robling which is designed to speed retailers’ journey to holistic, omnichannel analytics and reporting.

Your Stores Deserve Champions!

With a mobile-first user experience, Capango eliminates the need for resumes by capturing data points about the Seeker—such as location, availability, interests, and skill sets—in just a few taps. By automatically matching Seekers with jobs based on tags selected when creating a job posting, Capango helps employers get one step closer to finding the perfect hire.

Find the Right Hires!

Happy Returns is expanding its hassle-free returns experience with Cost Plus World Market, resulting in Return Bars in all of the retailer’s 276 stores across 122 metro areas nationwide.

Dillard’s plans to launch British footwear mainline label Carvela in 75 stores across America and online this holiday season.

Walgreens and Wing, a member of the Alphabet family of companies, are partnering on an industry first that will offer unparalleled speed and convenience of “store to door” delivery of health and wellness, food and beverage and convenience items — via state-of-the-art drone technology — in minutes.

Impossible Foods will make its worldwide debut in grocery stores at all 27 outlets of Gelson’s Markets in Southern California — the first time that the general public will be able to buy and experience the Impossible Burger at home.