Technology

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…

In episode 161 of Total Retail Talks, recorded at the Customer Relationship Management Conference (CRMC) in Chicago, Scott Emmons, head of innovation lab, Neiman Marcus, details how the upscale department store chain is leveraging technology across sales channels to improve customers’ experiences, ultimately resulting in increased loyalty to the brand.

Google and Mastercard reportedly drafted a secret deal in which certain Google advertisers had access to data that shows if an online ad resulted in a purchase in a physical store. Bloomberg, citing four people with knowledge of the deal, reported that for the past year, select Google advertisers had access to a tool that tracks…

LIDS, an omnichannel retailer of hats and other athletic apparel, partnered with Salesforce and its artificial intelligence-powered Einstein solution to improve the performance of its email program. Specifically, LIDS is using Einstein to help it get more accurate insight into its subscribers’ engagement and intent, and then customizing messaging for curated lists based on the…