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This article details the struggle that luxury retail stores are having with providing a "personal customer experience." Because the products are so high end, they are expecting that aspect to talk for itself; however, customers are wanting a more personalized experience than what these stores are giving them. What do you guys think about this? And also how do you feel about the technology aspect they talk about in the end?

I believe that if I am going to spend a lot of money on an item, I should get treated with high end customer service.This is a reason why a lot of top brands have personal shoppers, because they know their target customer is willing to spend a lot of money for high quality goods. It is also important for high end retailers to display the value of their goods through the value of their store, even if it means dishing out a lot of money for renovations. Burberry is on the right track with integrating technology into a store that would not normally have this kind of technology. This technology gets the customer more involved in their shopping experience instead of just browsing around the store.

These luxury brands will not die. They may not be making the revenue they desire but they will not disappear. My mother for example has more of these items them I care to know. It is people like her that will keep this industry from disappearing. However with the economy it will be difficult to find new customers. But yes making the customer experience more personable will continue to bring the already loyal customers coming back. I do believe those five things they are going to change will help. But it will not necessarily bring in new customers.

I like it! I want to be recognized, greeted, and assisted if I need to be. I can see where some people may feel uncomfortable but employees should be trained when to know when a person wants more help or to be left alone.

I find this kind of stuff extremely interesting. I honestly like that stores can track me like this because this means that they are more likely to send coupons and deals my way for the things I want to buy. I also think this is a great way for stores to get the perfect layout of their store by seeing where certain demographics walk around.

This is significant because it has implications beyond just marketing to consumers. The question is, how far should we trespass into citizens (aka customers) rights in order to improve the customers experience? This isnt JUST another marketing ploy, it's an experiment in eroding consumer privacy... and it's working. Marketers realize how little consumers are informed of their own behavior and by association they realize lengths to which they can go. But as privacy erodes, what do we really gain? Sure, it's great they can send us coupons and build our customer profile, but did companies consult the consumer and get consent to do this? Is this data collection all passively done because companies know the taboo behind privacy issues? What does this type of intrusion open up in the future? I think this is seen as simply "the way things are" because we are all desensitized to businesses (and governments) violating the privacy of information. I would like to point out that historically when masses of people in power simply accept things the way they are that's when really really bad things happen (slavery, child labor, exploitation, etc). Passive accumulation of this information seems to me complicit with those who actively accumulate this information- they're both invasions. We must critically think about how allowing such invasions actually works to shape the physical and mental landscapes of our lives, are we actually prepared to deal with the consequences? So, while it may seem like this is just another marketing ploy, we instead should see this as actually another breach of private information which will continue to shape consumer behavior.

This article I feel gives a good grasp as to how technology has and will continue to adjust and change the retail industry.

I think this article is a good lead into the article posted about wifi usage being tracked. While some customers can feel theirrivacy is invaded, others really like the personalization that can be received as far as customer service. Technology is going to be a major rule in the future of retailing, or the future in general. With the amount of technology we have today, it seems that there will be no limits as to what we can do in the future, only limits on to what people will accept and partake in.

Be sure you check out the two videos as well -

Technology never ceases to amaze me - how convenient for people who hate waiting in line. I agree that there is a HUGE security concern for retailers and consumers. I think there are a lot of issues that need to be addressed on all ends. It will be very interesting to see if this idea catches on or if retailers and consumers will continue shopping as they always have.

PayPal was a huge success online and I believe it will be a success in the stores too. I hate to wait in lines and if this shortens lines then I am all in. I agree with Sarah the security issue does worry me and needs to be tested and addressed before actual use. Once the security problems are fixed I firmly believe this with great enhance the customer experience and drive revenues in the retail industry.

Here is the article I referred to today about integrating technology into customer service - enjoy!

Finish Line is has jumped on the trend that I think will ultimately be a benefit them, mobile check out. It takes the hassle of lines out of shopping, and like I commented on a different post, the less time you spend in line the more time you spend looking around the store. More time shopping will equal more products purchased.

I agree with Brock. Nike has their own customization, I think now its time for the store to start doing that. I think this would improve sales because when I got my shoes I went to Nike's site so I could customize the shoes to how I wanted since it was only like $10 more to have them exactly how I wanted them.

This is really cool what they are doing! I'm curious as to if they had a issue with lines in their stores or if they are working on simply improving customer service.

I feel this new technology integration is a great aspect for Finish Line to incorporate into their stores. The mobile kiosks they explained will really benefit customers since it's hard for a shoe/apparel store to have every color, in every size, and every style needed - especially when there are so many different variations available. Shoes are almost more critical than clothing when a customer wants the "touch, feel, try-on" aspect. Every shoe looks, feels, and fits differently. So if customers are able to see the style and try on a similar size to know what they specifically need, I think mobile devices and kiosks will greatly benefit customers and add value to the overall Finish Line shopping experience so they can get exactly the shoe they want and not have to settle for what's in-stock. I was also excited to read in the "Keeping Pace in Omnichannel Race" article, about the Finish Line "sections" coming to Macy's stores. When I go to Macy's, I usually shop for dressy shoes or everyday styles and steer away from running/tennis shoes because I feel I need a little more guidance for a shoe that will support my foot in such physical exercise. So now that Macy's will have a section under the Finish Line name that supports active shoe purchases is something I'm very anxious to take a look at when the integration is complete! It's great to have such established and successful companies such as Eli Lilly and Finish Line headquartered in Indianapolis!

Exciting to know that college students began the company and have stuck to their values ever since. It is interesting to hear that they prefer art students over business students (us). Makes me think that we should become more well-rounded so that we are not stereotyped as only "analytical" which the article mentions at least twice. We can be creative too!

Thank you for this article Kara! Urban Outfitters is one of my favorite places to shop and I had no idea that it was started and run by college students--I think this is one of the great ways that they are attracting their target market. This was my favorite sentence from the article, "If a manager sees an old wooden crate on his way to work and thinks it would look good in the men's section, he can bring it to work and put it on display." This is wonderful, just wonderful! Going back to what a lot of you have already mentioned, their unique layout and atmosphere is what brings people in and creates that overall "experience" for the customers.

Great article Kara! I agree with Lina and find it very interesting that they prefer to hire art students versus business students. Although I am not a very artist person this article makes me wonder if students should take more classes in the arts along with our core curriculum. I have never actually entered or bought anything from urban outfitters so I cant say I truly understand what the stores look like from a layout stand point, but it is very interesting that employees are allowed a sense of freedom when it comes to creating an ascetically pleasing store. I think it will be interesting to see if more businesses learn toward hiring more artistic individual.

I think this article is a great example of how important it is for companies to be continually evolving and strengthening their brands. I currently work for Kairos Zero, which is an online marketing consulting company, and their main objective in helping their clients is specifically defining the target market. Once the target market is clearly defined for any company, they can use analytics to better analyze their main customers, how they behave, and what they are looking to experience with your product or service. In the case of this article, JC Penny was unable to evolve and develop new strategies for existing or new customers because their target market was not clearly defined, and JC Jenny's overall focus was not based on what the customer truly wanted. This directly affected their bottom line over the course of two years. Unfortunate for JC Penny, but demonstrates how important it is to cater to the customer and provide that "experience" that they are looking for.

As everyone has stated, JC Penney is in hot water because they have lost sight of what the main focus should be: the customer. Without focusing on the customer, how do they expect to keep them coming back? The main aspect of customer loyalty is keeping customers satisfied in order to make them want to be a continuous customer. Because JC Penney is making decisions based on what they think customers want without doing any market research to back up these decisions, it is apparent that their customer loyalty, which in turn, affects their sales is dwindling rapidly. One aspect of the article that I could relate to was when the author talked about using test brands to see customer's responses to the brand. While working at my part time job at Express clothing, we would always be sent one or two items that we didn't have and would use them as "test items" to see if customers would be interested in buying the item. If the items were purchased, we let the manufacturer know and they would determine whether they would send us the item to sell. If not, we would not sell the items in our store. I think using a test brand is a great idea for JC Penney to try. By using a select few items from different brands, they can see what is successful and what is not and plan accordingly.

When I saw the changes JCPenney made in person, I thought it made their company look a little bit cheaper. While it was nice to see low prices, I still liked the more "department store" feeling with cash registers in every department rather than just in the front of the store. I agree with Kara about how Apple is its own "breed" because Apple is constantly innovating their products to be more user friendly to their customers and they are constantly listening to their customers, not to mention their top of the line customer service. It is also a lot easier to listen to your consumers when you have one specialized product such as Apple with electronics. JCP sells a wider variety of things from clothing, to luggage, to home goods, to shoes. With that being said, I believe it is a lot more important for them to listen to your customers because they have a wider variety of target customers.

Be sure to watch the video in this article on how this AR app is going to work.

I think this is an amazing concept! Now not only have they made online shopping more fun and interactive but it is also a much more efficient way of shopping for the right piece of furniture. You no longer have to worry about taking measurements or samples to make sure the furniture matches up with the room. Instead, you can virtually place the chosen piece right in the room with accurate measurements and design and see how it looks before even buying it!

This app seems super exciting. I love rearranging and decorating my own room and this app allows for people to physically see an idea on a screen that was originally just a vision. It is great to see how more and more companies are integrating omni-channel retailing to improve the customer experience whether it be online, in store, and mobile.

This article discusses Staples incorporation of interactive kiosks and digital signage into their stores to help be more efficient with their square footage. They are trying to give customers "access to endless aisle shopping and ordering capabilities." Do you think shoppers will be disappointed by the limited amount of options on hand or will the ability to order more items in-store outweigh the limited selection?

The digital kiosk idea can be great, but only if it works effectively. In my experience, I tried using Targets kiosks that they started using to pull up a registry for a wedding. However, the system wouldn't allow me access to the registry, and even after an employee tried helping me, we both just kind of gave up. This is just one example how technology if used improperly can do more to hinder a consumer's experience than help.

I am not sure how I feel about Staples new plan to offer a limited selection in-store. If this is more for small items that there are many types of -- it is helpful and takes away the frustration of searching for a specific item among many alike items -- but why would we go into the store when we can just order it online? Going off Lina -- sometimes the reason people go into stores is to get the item there and then . . . this makes me think will ordering it in store be more of a hassle than a convenience? I think it will be interesting to see how consumers react to this new shopping experience. . I think it is a good way to incorporate online and in-store shopping but I think that this may just drive consumers to shop online and stray away from going into the store.

This is another article that outlines how companies target consumers by obtaining information about there interests. Many people feel that a lot of these methods of gaining information are invasive or otherwise unsettling. How do you feel about information being gathered about your consumer behavior? Do you feel that they are going too far?

This article was really interesting, creepy, and yet educational all at the same time! I'm not surprised at all that companies are using these algorithms to track our movements. Yes, nothing is safe in this world and how can anybody trust anything?! But at the same time, we as consumers need to be aware of these insecurities because you never know who has access to the Wifi connections or internet access. All of this psychological analysis is used to increase sales. Maybe they didn't want this particular example to get out that the same type of technology is used in tracking terrorists, but we should understand as potential marketers that this is just to generate sales. And because of programs such as these, we may be introduced to brands and products that could change our lives for the better.

The ad targeting is very interesting- I have definitely noticed the targeted marketing durning this project. After searching Vera Bradley for my in class project all of my advertisements on Facebook and other searches are all Vera Bradley products!

The articles summarizes the most recent trends in e-commerce by giving advice to online retailers about what they should be aware of in 2013.

The page layout definitely has strong influence.. A company's website is becoming most important.. For most this is how a person gets their first impression on the business. The more tech savvy the business becomes the better likelihood for success in my opinion.

The number one must have is definitely mobile optimization. I actually tried buying something off my phone today while I was in the car. This creates for convenience for consumers because smart phones and tablets and other mobile devices are so popular right now. Free shipping is also extremely important especially for goods that weigh a lot or that would normally be a lot of money to ship.

I like how Finish Line addressed the issue when being asked about it. They did not put down the omni-channeling idea after their first attempt failed, but rather expressed the importance of it and the importance of doing it right. I think it made them seem very professional and very customer-focused. I think the employees using iPads is a great idea for Finish Line. It would be very helpful for customers to know right away whether they had their size in the back rather than having to wait for the employee to check and then return and find the customer. While the hiccup with the system may have cost them, I think the general idea is a great one, as long as it is executed properly.

I have to agree with Sarah and Paige, failure isn't about falling it's about staying down. It is easy to see that Finish Line won't stay down and are eager to try again. For a shoe company which doesn't have a lot to separate itself from its competition, the desire to do better and offer new services is an important aspect to keep them as a top competitor in the market.

Agreeing with Sarah and Paige, I think Finish Line was very professional in the way they handled the "hiccup." It is clear that not everything can work smoothly 100% of the time, but I think they are doing a great job bouncing back from that. Also, going along with what they have already stated, I think the iPads really are going to improve the customer service because I know when I'm shopping for tennis shoes and they have to go back and look and then they get stopped by someone else and other people ask questions on their way to look, it can take a while so I think costumers will really appreciate the employees being able to let them know if they have what they want right at that moment. I think this will be very beneficial for the company!