Technology

One of the biggest trends in fashion these days has nothing to do with floral prints, pastels, lace, neon or outrageous nail art. While those loom large on many a shopper's spring and summer wish lists, it's technology that's sweeping across the industry faster than peplum tops and orange lipstick. Everywhere you turn, there's a new app, social shopping site or chance to share your favorite items with, well, anyone willing to pay attention to your tweets, pins, posts or status updates. Check out five high-tech fashion retail trends to watch. 

Amazon.com added a new option for sellers who wish to contact buyers about negative feedback. The "Resolve" feedback button in Feedback Manager allows sellers to email buyers directly to begin resolving any problems with an order. The button is available only when a buyer posts a feedback rating of one or two stars. "If you receive negative buyer feedback, it is important to quickly determine the cause of the problem and work toward resolving it with the buyer," the company said in its announcement to sellers. 

With site speed playing such an important role in time spent on site, conversion rate and ultimately revenue, online retailers need affordable and reliable CDNs that guarantee significant site performance gains. Taking the time to evaluate CDN technologies and costs helps ensure a great customer experience, whether on a slow traffic weekday or during a product launch that drives iPad announcement traffic levels.

So you're looking through Google Analytics and notice that you're losing some remarketing visitors on the shopping cart page. Or maybe you rarely or never have repeat customers and don't want to serve ads to people who already purchased. How can you tailor your remarketing strategy keeping those issues in mind? Custom combinations allow marketers to combine remarketing lists to reach a more targeted audience.

Back in February of last year when Sears Holdings named Lou D'Ambrosio as its new chief executive, it was clear that the decision was made because of his background in technology. 

Retailers have countless opportunities to creatively reach consumers through mobile devices — and it's not just limited to smartphone users. One-hundred percent of all mobile phones receive text messages, which means retailers can effectively reach customers and prospects to engage them on a personal basis. Consumers expect instant gratification in their multichannel interactions with retailers. There are many more social ADD consumers that would rather text than talk; they're very comfortable using mobile devices to buy things online.

Shopping cart abandonment is one of the most pervasive concerns among online retailers, and with good reason. According to a study from Listrak, 75 percent of your site visitors will likely leave without making a purchase, and 85 percent of the top 1,000 online retailers are doing nothing to combat this growing issue. If you're investing in channels to drive traffic to your site this holiday season, take advantage of the opportunity to add value to your campaigns and maximize return on investment by using your existing AdWords Conversion Tracking pixel to remarket to past converters.

Retail theft (i.e., shoplifting and dishonest employees) continues to be a much greater problem than many people realize. These losses are responsible for higher prices paid by consumers and even store and company closures due to the profit drain. To prevent your business from becoming part of these statistics, there are steps you can take to limit retail theft losses:

The vision for the SKLZ website, which receives more than 100,000 visitors a month, is to inspire athletes to develop their skills. To meet that vision, the retailer made a commitment to add videos to its site and drastically expand its library of training-related video content. SKLZ believed that if athletes could watch instructional videos that incorporate its products, then they'd be more likely to see SKLZ as a legitimate source for training.

It's easy to avoid pushy sales clerks when shopping for new threads. A department store in Japan now uses inescapable RFID-equipped clothing hangers to try to sell you other products and accessories when you take a garment off a rack.