Innovating fashion technology… Scott Emmons, Director of and Founder of the Innovation Lab at Neiman Marcus, joins Pavan Bahl, Sanchez and Marc Raco on the floor of the Innovation Center of the 2016 ECommerce Show USA in Atlanta, GA. This interview is sponsored by Alert Tech, a powerful tool for retailers to understand the performance of their retail stores and make better business decisions. Customer Service As the remains of the conference is disassembled around the group, Emmons discusses attending the retail technology conference and what learn from colleagues and peers, and how he presented on what’s happening at lab. He talks on research and testing new tech, the effort to get tech out in the stores and in front of customers, and the genesis of the Innovation Lab. Pavan shares his perception of a boutique experience with department store size. Customer service in the DNA. how smart phones changed the customer service process, the way customers have changed and their use of time, and why brands need top notch retail experiences in that limited time. Mentoring and lofty goals Emmons covers lofty goals of the Innovation Lab, getting into fitting rooms, delivering the right lighting in fitting rooms, creating real in-store experiences, ROI considerations vs. customer desire, the importance of pilots, and Neiman Marcus’ testing process. Working with Memory Mirror, using phone data to expand interaction and analytics, Memo Me, the way the Innovation Lab changed, why relationships are imperative to the lab’s success, being part of the idea funnel, nurturing, mentoring business in their processes, and business plans, and why it is important to make sure the companies involved with the lab are profitable. Scott Emmons and the future How accelerators can stand out in a saturated market, renting an innovation lab, hackathons, watching how brands affect the way the lab thinks, getting ahead of the wave of knowing how to engage the millennial customer and whether early habits will still be true when someone is ready to shop luxury, who participate in lab, and how being a nerd might play into working with the lab. Off the Grid Questions reveal a monorail to nowhere, a surprising perfect weekend, and great Sci Fi. References: Rev Tech Ebay Labs Rebecca Minkoff Memory Mirror