Technology

This Friday, Polo Ralph Lauren is launching its first RLX iPad app, and this being Polo there's no shortage of innovative elements to underscore the brand's athletic roots. 

To help meet customers' desire for immediacy during the shopping experience, Nordstrom President Blake Nordstrom announced that the retailer will deploy mobile devices for its store employees by this fall.

Clothing retailer Selfridges is displaying the Urban Mobility fashion collection as QR coded artwork. The installation is a unique blend of retail fashion, art and technology and probably demonstrates why Selfridges was voted "Best Department Store in the World" by the International Association of Department Stores.

Beauty care company Estée Lauder is using digital technologies to enhance the customer experience at various points of sale, including iPads for consumer use. Estée Lauder is "the first cosmetics brand to put iPads at selected store counters," said Fabrizio Freda, the company's president and CEO.

J.C. Penney unveiled plans to install large touchscreens at 120 of its stores and introduce an iPad application available in 50 jewelry departments, the latest move by a retailer looking to capitalize on the growing electronic sales market.

Apple plans to introduce services that would let customers use its iPhone and iPad computer to make purchases, said Richard Doherty, director of consulting firm Envisioneering Group.

With more big-box retailers and department store chains such as Sears launching commerce-enabled applications for Apple's iPad and other tablets, merchants must position their offerings to differentiate from competitors.

Welcome to augmented reality (AR), also known as interactive video technology, which is set to transform the consumer experience.

The National Retail Federation's BIG Show, which took place in New York last week, is an annual opportunity for retailers to tap into the latest technologies for improving everything from customer analysis to mobile commerce.

Belk CIO Mike Laurenti compares the department store chain's three-year, $150 million transformational IT initiative to "heart surgery on virtually everything that runs the company" — including its point of sale, core merchandising, e-commerce and data warehousing.