Nordstrom Labs is a small team of techies, designers, entrepreneurs, statisticians, researchers and artists whose mission is to discover what will be in the future of retailing. It's one of the most important initiatives underway at Nordstrom, as management looks to build on its legacy of customer service and care in a technological world. Based in Seattle, also the hometown of Amazon.com, Nordstrom is well aware that the future with its tech-savvy consumers will bring many profound changes.
J.C. Penney is going against the retail trend and dumping its newly installed in-store Wi-Fi. The department-store company, which invested about $12 million installing the free, publicly accessible Wi-Fi last year, will save about $7 million a year by halting the service, sources familiar with the situation told BuzzFeed on the condition of anonymity. While mobile checkout devices will still use wireless internet, it won't work for the public — or for store employees’ personal phones, sources say, leading to some unhappy grumbling on Twitter.
Shoppers searching eBay on Sunday were shown search results with photos missing from some listings. The problem occurred on what's typically the busiest day of the week on eBay. Sellers busy loading new listings on eBay Sunday afternoon had difficulty uploading photos, leaving their listings with an ugly plain box showing in search results. A reader posted the problem on Ecommerce EKG, but eBay had no announcement about the problem on its Systems Announcement board.
Concerned about privacy? Now you can see what data has been collected on you. I was in for a shock. In an admirable move toward transparency, Acxiom, one of the largest data collection companies in the world, will show you a summary of your personal data. You can see its view into your world at AbouttheData.com. The shock for me? Acxiom got me just plain wrong.
Etsy faced a backlash from angry sellers after announcing a major overhaul of its feedback system late last month, and this week it modified one of the more unpopular features of the system. Etsy
There are so many different shopping cart providers today, how do you know what to look for when selecting one? The answer ultimately lies in knowing which software will adapt and grow with your business best. As I see it, there are five absolutely critical things that must be considered when setting up an online store and selecting an online shopping cart:
It's difficult to think of many retailers with which Amazon.com doesn't compete. Despite what's seemed like a friendly relationship, office supplies retailer Staples may be preparing to take aim at the e-commerce giant during the holiday shopping season. An EcommerceBytes reader forwarded part of a survey Staples is conducting about the effectiveness of various advertisements. One question shows two ads and asks which one would make the respondent shop Staples more often — the ad with the words "price match guarantee" or the ad with the words "We'll Match Amazon's prices."
Unfortunately, it's not a question of if, but when your company will experience a data breach. Whether caused by a hacker, equipment failure, theft, disgruntled employee or a vendor error, most retailers will experience an incident resulting in the unauthorized disclosure of confidential customer or employee information. According to the Open Security Foundation and security consultancy Risk Based Security, last year set a record for the number of reported data breach incidents — 2,644 incidents, more than double the number in 2011, which previously had been the highest amount in one year.
Billabong is a global omnichannel retailer of surfwear and extreme sports apparel that has a presence in more than 100 countries, including 110 brick-and-mortar stores in the U.S. With its extended reach and strong international customer base, Billabong frequently saw customers from around the world shopping in its U.S. stores. To provide these international customers shopping in the U.S. as seamless an experience as possible, Billabong recently installed a "Pay in Your Currency" payment solution in 85 of its stores across the country.
Target has become a leader in the retail industry for keeping ahead of the curve. The retailer is continuing its innovation and investments with the rollout of its Cartwheel coupon platform, expanding its footprint in smaller locations and building on its delivery capabilities. Target is building the digital acumen of the organization through hiring and collaborations with leading technology partners. Its Technology Innovation Center in San Francisco provides the opportunity to benefit from technology talent in the area and quickly explore opportunities that can be brought to Target, accelerating the pace of innovation and adoption of emerging technologies and trends.
