Digital retailers are gearing up to head to the Los Angeles Convention Center later this month for Shop.org 2017, NRF's annual e-commerce event, which will take place Sept. 25-27.
This year's EXPO will feature 200 retail solution providers specializing in product categories including customer service, in-store digital tools, analytics and mobile technology, as well as 20-minute Tech Talks covering mobile, distribution, marketing, AR and VR, IT, cybersecurity and more. Keynotes and Breakout Sessions will touch on digital retail's hottest topics and feature speakers from Kobe Bryant and Tyra Banks to leaders from The Walt Disney Co., DSW, TechStyle Fashion Group, Beautycounter, Minted, theSkimm and more.
Check out this overview of how Shop.org will help attendees network and learn about leading digital change, implementing innovative technologies, using data effectively, capturing customer loyalty and setting their companies up for the future. It's not too late to register for Shop.org 2017, and you can follow the action from the conference on Twitter and Instagram with #shoporg17 and by subscribing to Shop.org SmartBrief, which will cover news from the conference each day.
The Brands Beating Amazon at Personalization Believe it: Amazon isn't leading the pack in personalization. Find out which 16 brands are beating the ecommerce giant on Sailthru's Retail Personalization Index and access exclusive personalization resources and insights to transform your CX. Check it out now.
Generation Z shoppers are already showing characteristics and preferences different from those who've come before -- enough so that retailers are taking note and adding new in-store and online options. At Shop.org, executives from American Eagle, Dormify and YPulse will share insights on how these digital natives feel about physical stores, experiential retail and social media. Learn more.
Consumers shopping for a pair of jeans can get some digital help from a Levi's chatbot. The company's Virtual Stylist serves up suggestions based on a user's style preferences and size.
Retail is reinventing itself in the age of Amazon, replacing dependence on concept and inventory management with product innovation and speed of delivery to win repeat customers, retail analyst Dana Telsey said. Social media is also driving change and growth, a trend that's particularly evident in the beauty sector, she said.
Fashion retailer Rebecca Minkoff has added Alipay as a payment option in stores and online, giving the Chinese mobile payment giant's 5.2 million members an easy way to pay. The launch coincided with the start of New York Fashion Week as well as a fashion show and party that included social media influencers from China.
Four-year-old Beautycounter has taken on a mission to raise awareness of US beauty business regulations and offer products made without suspect ingredients. STORES Magazine spoke with the brand's CEO and founder and 2017 Shop.org keynote speaker Gregg Renfrew about the company's evolution and its movement for "better beauty" through advocacy and activism.
Artificial intelligence for customer service responds and shapes itself not only according to the words that consumers use but also to the way they express them, writes Jay Wilpon. Consumers who use specific emotions, like anger, when speaking to virtual assistants are helping advance the next steps of the technology, he writes.
With more than 100,000 robots working in warehouses and other areas of its company across the globe, Amazon is finding new positions for its employees. Machines take on the more tedious, physically demanding roles, allowing workers more time to focus on mentally challenging tasks.
The Shop.org Digital Commerce Startup of the Year competition, now in its fourth round, recognizes startups with the potential to significantly improve or radically alter how retailing is done. In advance of the Shop.org 2017 conference, NRF caught up with Nicky Jackson, founder and CEO of RangeMe, the 2016 winner.
Customers know more than ever and want it all: same-day delivery, instant checkout, real-time customer service -- the list goes on. At Shop.org, hear from product and marketing experts from Sam's Club and Walgreens on incorporating consumer-first principles, grabbing the customer's attention, building loyalty and tackling the needs of specific consumer segments. Learn more.
The rise in e-commerce has created more jobs than have been lost in traditional retail, and the new positions tend to pay more because automation makes the employees more productive. Amazon's fulfillment center in the former mill town of Fall River, Mass., employs about 2,000 employees earning more than $2 above the state's minimum wage, along with perks including tuition reimbursement and company shares.
Amazon is preparing to unveil a 500-piece private-label fashion line called Find for the European market. The collection, created by a team that includes former Marks & Spencer executive Frances Russell, is the latest step in the e-commerce giant's evolving apparel efforts that began with its 2006 acquisition of online fashion company Shopbop.
On the heels of Walmart announcing a partnership with Google that will allow shoppers to order products through Google Assistant, Walmart's head of e-commerce, Marc Lore, will discuss the company's approach to innovation at NRF's annual Shop.org conference. Lore will join TechStyle's Adam Goldenberg for a session on thinking and acting like a startup, no matter a company's size. Learn more.
![[A look ahead to Shop.org 2017]](http://cdn.smartbrief.com/images/stories/m/b2/e0/b2e0wnw/shopsr_logo_w250.png){kind=logo}
