Technology

Customer data platforms (CDPs) can represent a transformational piece of technology for retailers — if they’re deployed properly. Retail offers an incredible landscape for data-driven personalization. Closing the gap between physical and digital spaces unlocks massive opportunities for one-to-one personalized offers, dynamic margin optimization, and more. And CDPs can be key. It helps to facilitate these…

In this episode of Retail Right Now, Total Retail's Caitlin Sullivan and Joe Keenan recap Total Retail Tech, an executive retail summit focused on the intersection of retail technology and marketing. Keenan identifies three primary themes to emerge from the conference — implementing a culture of digital innovation and experimentation within your organization; the buzz…

These days, the retail industry is grappling with “Amazonitis.” Amazon.com has disrupted virtually every sector in the retail market, from food to fashion. In order to survive, retailers, particularly brick-and-mortar businesses, have to give people a reason to come to their stores. They must create a distinctive customer experience, and to that end, they should…

Julie Roy, vice president of CRM, digital and analytics at DSW, spoke to Total Retail at last week's Total Retail Tech summit about the footwear retailer's enhancements to its customer loyalty program, website and mobile app, as well as which retail technologies she believes will have staying power in the years to come.

The excerpt below is from Total Retail's fourth annual Game Changers issue, sponsored by Emarsys. The goal of this issue is to highlight the entrepreneurs and startup businesses that are disrupting the traditional retail industry, whether it be it through digital innovation, unique product, enhancements to the supply chain, or a multitude of other ways. Below are…

More than ever before, artificial intelligence (AI) is being used as a way for people to communicate with brands. Retail companies in particular are turning to AI-powered chatbots as a critical part of their tech stack to deliver mass precision reach and a superior customer experience. In fact, retail is expected to overtake banking to…

In this episode of Retail Right Now, Total Retail's Caitlin Sullivan and Joe Keenan discuss LIDS’ successful use of artificial intelligence (AI) to curate customized email lists, improving the program's open, clickthrough and conversion rates. Furthermore, an analysis of the wide variety of applications for AI in retail is presented.

New research from Voicebot.ai reports that nearly one in five adults in the U.S. already has access to a smart speaker (e.g., Alexa, Google Home), although they might not necessarily have their own. This equates to roughly 47.3 million people, or 20 percent of the U.S. adult population. Considering that Amazon.com didn’t release its Echo speaker until…

The first marketing technology stacks were created to organize, analyze and improve performance. They surfaced in the early 2000s when three adventurous chief marketing officers invested in fundamental tools made for superior management of their campaigns and audiences. These integrated systems induced order, unlocked targeted campaigns, and personalized messages for improved results. In recent years the marketing industry has come a great…

By implementing a self-service artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot solution, TechStyle Fashion Group (parent company of JustFab, Fabletics, ShoeDazzle) saved more than $1 million and was able to reduce the overall number of calls to its contact centers for transactional and traditionally self-service issues. In addition, the chatbot’s proactive, context-inclusive handoff of more complex chat sessions to live agents…