Technology

When Amazon.com announced the Dash Button back on March 31, it seemed like an early April Fools’ Day joke: it had made a button you can buy that would place an order for something — a single, specific product — whenever you pressed it. But the Dash Button was very real and designed to be…

Amazon.com wants to carve out a special zone of the sky to shuttle commercial drones that would deliver goods to its customers. Amazon Prime Air project vice president Gur Kimchi used a NASA convention in California on Tuesday to fly the idea of dedicating separate air zones for commercial drones. Kimchi proposed setting commercial drone zones between…

Kyle Nel is executive director of Lowe's Innovation Labs, where he's developed the Lowe's Holoroom, an augmented and virtual reality home improvement design tool, the OSHbot autonomous retail service robot, and in-store and online 3-D scanning and printing. In Nel’s words: “I (and my team) build new technologies that solve consumer problems, as envisioned through…

Breaking through the noise to establish your online store as a gift destination isn't easy. The good news is that your customers love your products. However, data shows that many customers who purchase items for themselves online aren't necessarily shopping for gifts at the same stores. Much of this is due to the various obstacles…

Rakuten, Japan’s answer to Amazon.com with e-commerce operations and investments that stretch from digital media and e-commerce marketplaces through to social media and transport apps, is making another acquisition to expand its holdings, this time in the area of fashion. The company has acquired Fits.me, a startup that develops “virtual fitting rooms” — two-way technology…

Target has opened a new retail space at the base of its Metreon City Target near San Francisco’s Moscone Center, and if you’re a fan of the smart home, clear acrylic furniture or grand retail experiments, then this is the place to be. The Minneapolis retailer is calling this Target’s Open House, and it's the…

As retailers get smart with technology to help them pinpoint their offerings, we’re getting a clearer understanding of what shoppers love. But what do they hate? Not many people talk about that, but it’s very useful to delineate for the sake of getting to know your customers better. If you can figure out what shoppers…

The explosive growth of device connectivity, wireless technology, cloud computing and advanced analytics has driven the Internet of Things (IoT) from vision to reality. Devices with embedded sensors are enabling advanced, automated communications for businesses and customers. These connected devices are driving deeper engagement, providing new experiences and opportunities, creating new revenue opportunities, and enabling…

The use of handheld RFID readers for retail cycle counting and inventory management is exploding — and for good reason. They’re inexpensive, tangible and convenient, and provide a familiar form factor for store associates. However, while handhelds are well suited for initial retail pilots, deploying them in scaled-up enterprise environments requires careful thought and planning.…

To increase customer lifetime value (CLV), your business needs to be able to meet each customer’s individual expectations over and over again. Those expectations vary widely from one customer to the next, of course. However, when it comes to recurring purchases or usage, customers demand three things in particular: speed, choices and personalization. Delivering on…