Technology

If Italian eyewear brand Luxottica — which controls 80 percent of the frames and sunglasses market — is an 800-pound gorilla, then Warby Parker is a chimpanzee: lean, agile and smart enough to shake things up. Where did Warby Parker Co-Founder Neil Blumenthal get the gusto to take on the incumbent ape? Before starting Warby…

There are many exciting facets of mobile that open up worlds of opportunity for customer and business expansion for retailers. And while mobile marketing is still just scratching the surface, one strategy is sure to become more in focus for retailers in 2017: location-targeted marketing. What is Location-Based Marketing? It sounds like something from the…

In 2016, we saw retailers begin to experiment with chatbots. Customers could place orders or contact customer service through the use of this technology. The rise in chatbot popularity became clear when Facebook Messenger announced it would be integrating with retailers to allow consumers to make purchases right in the platform. Now Narvar, a software-as-a-service…

The legendary Steve Jobs once said, “get closer than ever to your customers. So close that you tell them what they need well before they realize it themselves.” This can, by and large, be taken as a mantra by corporate organizations looking to deliver great customer experiences in the 21st century. A lot of people interpret…

To protect your customers’ data on your website, you'll need a SSL certificate. SSL or “secure sockets layer” technology encrypts all communication between web browsers and website servers. Many users are now familiar with the small green “lock” symbol that appears in their browser address bar when a site is protected by SSL and uses…

The retail industry has never been as competitive — or as fragmented — as it is today. With consumers’ attention increasingly being split between multiple channels, retailers are in need of new ways to reach shoppers wherever they are. However, it’s not enough to reach a shopper in the right channel with any message. Retailers…

Nordstrom is expanding on its efforts to engage with mobile shoppers, using the holiday gift-giving season as an opportunity to launch its first-ever chatbot. If you can’t decide on the perfect gift for your mom this holiday season, for example, the bot is a click away on Facebook Messenger as well as Kik. Nordstrom teamed with New…

In today's world, it's a foregone conclusion that the average shopper brings a smartphone into a brick-and-mortar establishment while shopping. Catering to this reality, savvy businesses have developed mobile apps that enhance and improve the shopping experience in meaningful ways. While it may seem as if retail and mobile aren't a natural fit, the data…

Amazon.com has built a convenience store in downtown Seattle that deploys a gaggle of technologies similar to those used in self-driving cars to allow shoppers to come in, grab items and walk out without going through a register. The 1,800-square-foot store, officially dubbed “Amazon Go,” is the latest brick-and-mortar initiative from the e-commerce giant, which already…

Michelle Peluso, chief marketing officer of IBM, recently spoke at the IMPACT 2016 Capital Conference in Philadelphia. Peluso talked about how she's always been surrounded by disruption throughout her career at companies like Site59, Travelocity, Citi…