Technology

This week, Amazon.com announced a new device called Echo Look, a “style assistant” camera that helps catalog your outfits and rates your look based on “machine learning algorithms with advice from fashion specialists.” Users can prompt the Echo to take full-length photos or short videos of outfits so they can see themselves from angles seldom seen…

Big-name retailers have had a rough year. While the economy continues to make gains, the stock market reaching record highs and jobs reports putting smiles across economists’ faces, retailers such as Macy’s have failed to exploit the improving economic landscape. In fact, according to WWD, Macy’s, Sears Holdings Corp., The Limited, American Apparel, BCBG Max…

It’s time you heard the truth about your e-commerce business. I know you’re passionate about your products — you spend sleepless nights obsessing about them. You’d rather sit in your warehouse instead of socializing with other humans. Turns out you’re not alone. In fact, soon after opening up shop, most online sellers find themselves in…

Amazon.com was awarded a patent on Tuesday for an on-demand manufacturing system. The computerized system is designed to quickly produce clothing and other products only after a customer has placed an order. To increase efficiency, the goods would be manufactured in batches based on factors such a shipping addresses, the patent said. The inventors of…

Amazon.com was awarded a patent on Tuesday for an on-demand manufacturing system. The computerized system is designed to quickly produce clothing and other products only after a customer has placed an order. To increase efficiency, the goods would be manufactured in batches based on factors such a shipping addresses, the patent said. The inventors of […]

Being a data scientist for over 30 years has allowed me to experience firsthand the evolution of the career. In the ’80s I worked for a Chicago company called Northwest Industries, which was a leader in business intelligence. Here, I saw an opportunity. With two other colleagues, I started my own company and created a…

It seems almost daily headlines report the fall of yet another large, reputable brand or the downsizing of a big-box retailer. In recent years, iconic retailers like Burberry, Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors and Kate Spade, to name a few, have all lost significant shares of their market value. Where large brands are hurting, big-box retailers are…

Scott Friend, managing director for Bain Capital Ventures, interviewed Jet.com's Marc Lore at Shoptalk in Las Vegas last month. In this video, Total Retail's Joe Keenan caught up with Friend to get his take on the year's top retail trends, technologies and what brands should do to survive the current retail tides.

The consumer Internet of Things (cIoT) is here. But what exactly is it? It’s hard to believe, but a world in which purchasing will become seamless from thousands of new touchpoints is just around the corner. We're seeing the thin end of the wedge with FitBit, Apple Watch, Amazon Alexa, Nest and Google Home. In…

A number of retailers and analysts claim that “category management is dead” because it’s too product focused rather than shopper centric. However, the results of the Symphony GOLD third annual Category Management Survey suggests you don’t need to kill off category management to be customer focused. Seeking to benchmark category management approaches, the survey polled…