Apps

One out of every three apparel purchases made online is returned. Businesses with those return rates would never be able to survive in other sectors. Imagine if one out of every three restaurant customers sent their food back? Or one out of every three travelers canceled their flight tickets? The 33 percent return rate would be untenable. However, online retail is a different beast than brick-and-mortar, especially when it comes to apparel. Online shoppers are unable to try on items, figure out the right size, touch and feel the product, and only have a limited ability to see intricate details. Sizing and fit top the list of reasons why consumers make returns. By integrating tools to help shoppers make smarter fit decisions, online retailers can dramatically reduce their return rates.

Listen in as these movers and shakers discuss their digital retail startups and how they’ve broken through the boundaries of tradition.

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According to the latest data from Adobe, smartphones and tablets will account for $1.6 billion in sales on Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined. In an effort to tap into those sales, Stride Rite has launched a new RiteFit app, created to measure children's feet with accuracy and ease, directly from an iPad. The app is available for free on the iTunes App Store. Stride Rite collaborated with digital innovation partner MJD to develop this best-in-class solution to measure children's feet, anytime and anywhere.

Even with the e-commerce boom, shopping at brick-and-mortar stores will continue to rule this holiday season. But with more shoppers using smartphones to compare prices, Target is one of several major retailers tackling this trend of "showrooming" head-on with a new, souped-up mobile app. Today, the Minneapolis-based chain unveils an app that uses location-based technology, powered by Point Inside, to link products with store maps. The user builds a shopping list or uses a search bar to find products, then the aisle where a product is located is revealed. 

If you’re a skeptic like me, all of the talk of beacons in retail stores sounds a little too pie-in-the-sky. Beacons, as you probably know by now, are devices that communicate with shoppers’ smartphones in the hopes of improving their in-store shopping experiences. When placed in-store, beacons use Bluetooth technology to detect nearby smartphones and send them ads, coupons or supplementary product information.

Department store chain Barneys New York created an iPad-specific application to further bring its in-store experience into the digital space. Barneys’ app combines its content site The Window with online shopping to give consumers a rounded impression of the retailer. More retailers are choosing to have their apps connect consumers with the store through more than just e-commerce by providing easy links to content and customer service. "Form factor is incredibly important on mobile," said Matthew Woolsey, executive vice president digital, Barneys New York.

Men's Wearhouse has launched an omnichannel inventory program that enables employees to better serve customers via a new mobile application. The "Find-It" app will let Men's Wearhouse employees check inventory levels across the retailer's network and add an item to a customer's order regardless of its location. The retailer will also deploy iPads in more than 650 of its locations so that employees can access the app. 

An everything guide on how to be a successful omnichannel retailer in 2014

Shareable content, enhanced product images, live chat and improved search capabilities are among the key changes introduced Tuesday morning to the Toysrus.com and Babiesrus.com websites. The sites are said to have a fresh design and layout, revamped navigation, and new features to help everyone from deal seekers to last-minute shoppers easily discover savings and information about the company's offerings. In addition, the sites have introduced social shopping functionality, which allows visitors to organize their most-wanted items in shareable toy and baby boards, while also viewing the most popular and trending products on the sites.