Italian footwear retailer Store of the Future (SOTF) opened its new Florence shop in September 2016, with an EPC ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID-based system to bring more personalized service to customers as they try on shoes, while also enabling omnichannel sales.

Like many major retailers today, physical stores are a focus to move forward in this evolving retail climate while still maintaining an active online presence. Kohl's is one of these retailers as it strives to focus more on omnichannel.

Amazon.com Inc. has invited some of the world's biggest brands to its Seattle headquarters in an audacious bid to persuade them that it's time to start shipping products directly to online shoppers and bypass chains like Wal-Mart, Target and Costco.

Analyst Insight: Omnichannel customer expectations continue to drive complexity in inventory planning and management. Expectations for faster fulfillment and free shipping, coupled with pressure to minimize inventory carrying cost, are driving companies to rethink inventory strategies to profitably service customers and ensure inventory is deployed in the right quantities to the right place at exactly the right time. But omnichannel flows like ship-from-store and buy-online-pick-up in-store (BOPIS) are complicating things and creating a new threshold for inventory planning requirements. - George Swartz, vice president, Fortna Inc.

After more than two decades of bad blood and legal wrangling between states and the online giant, Amazon will collect sales tax in all states that have such a levy. Collection in Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, and New Mexico, the final four states where shoppers don't pay required tax through the site, will begin on April 1st.

Walmart launched its own startup incubator program in Silicon Valley, with a keen eye on last-mile delivery, according to Mobility Buzz.