Late last year, Adidas opened a new "brand store" on 5th Ave. and 46th St. in NY. While I kept my eyes open for the technology I know is there, it didn't jump out at me (which isn't a bad thing). But five other aspects of the experience did.

Most of the recaps of Retail’s BIG Show, hosted by the National Retail Federation last week, have been focused on technology. But what stood out to me more than always-new technology was a collection of statements from the show about the people who work in retail and the investments the industry makes in them, largely in the name of customer experience.

"Technology is dramatically changing the retail landscape, but one thing remains the same: Retail is about providing high-quality, engaging experiences for customers. Human customers..."

When I’m in a store and I don’t have good cell service, I’m always surprised by how often I find the retailer doesn’t have public Wi-Fi. The reason I’m surprised is there are so many good reasons for stores to offer customers free Wi-Fi.

It's tempting to say closing 100 stores won't help Macy's and the company is doomed because there's so much wrong with it. Like the rest of the retail industry, Macy's needs to change with the times. I think closing so many stores is a big step toward that change.

The current issue of Harvard Business Review is one of the best I can remember. In a retail-focused section, "Curing the Addiction to Growth”, the researchers conclude "mature companies should rely on a strategy that focuses on growing revenues of existing stores faster than expenses”. This sounds rational and easy but, while logical, I’ve found it difficult for 3 reasons.

Amidst a world of digital snippets and statistical click bait, ELLE Magazine printed a well-researched longread on retail trends an sentiment in its January 2017 issue. I read it with interest because it's a fresh source talking to a different reader than the mainstream business publications. I wanted to know which themes they're seeing -- and reinforcing.

I think we've hit a new high this year in the quantity of gift guides published. Instead of recommending items for purchase, I'm sharing ideas for where to go shopping if you want to have fun browsing and find desirable gifts.

Personal shoppers, whether they’re entirely human or a human/algorithm combination, typically have a major advantage over a salesperson or a web site welcoming an unknown visitor: Time to plan... But my recent shopping experiences with a number of online and offline services have fallen far short of that expectation.

The store experience in Soho definitely lived up to expectations. And it’s definitely an experience more so than a store... The space is beautiful and not only brings the brand to life in a compelling way, but adds more dimension to the brand than could ever be conveyed by a web site or by the speakers themselves.

About weekly, I get this question from someone who sees the headlines but doesn't follow US retail - specifically the fashion segment of the industry - closely. Without spewing a lot of stats, I usually touch on some or all of the following.

Last month, I wrote about my successful shopping experience with Hamlet, where I discovered and bought a table lamp via text. Around the same time, I needed to book a flight so I downloaded the Mezi app. 

There seems to be a perception among US retailers and retail-watchers that Singles Day, or 11.11, is China’s e-commerce version of Black Friday. In fact, headlines have called it that. But there’s more to the story. It’s a story global retailers need to understand.

As I've told people I'm heading to China this week for "Singles Day", I've found I need to remind some what this holiday - also known as "11.11" - is. 

Below you'll find:

1. What I'm most excited to learn more about in Shenzhen

2. Key quotes from Alibaba's earnings conference call last week

Throughout, I'm linking to recent articles about 11.11, Alibaba and its competitors.

I read about Hamlet a couple of months ago. Having procrastinated on a ceiling light search because I had a specific aesthetic in mind yet technical limitations to conquer, I decided the time was ripe to try my "personal home stylist, from the comfort of my phone". I'm so glad I did.

Hamlet has a conveniently low barrier for consumer entry because it's just a number to text -- not an app, not even Facebook Messenger.

We’ve heard the doom-and-gloom about U.S. department stores. Yet, the retail community warmly received recent news of Anthropologie & Co., which is basically a department store. Why the optimism? Let’s take a step back and consider what made department stores appealing in the first place.