A Q&A With Neiman Marcus' Scott Emmons

By Erin Harris, Editor-In-Chief, Cell & Gene
Follow Me On Twitter @ErinHarris_1

One of my favorite parts of my job is talking to forward-thinking retail executives about what they’re working on, the innovative projects they’re leading, and where retail goes from here. As such, I recently had the opportunity to catch up with Scott Emmons, Head of the Innovation Lab at Neiman Marcus about the future of retailing. Scott has his finger on the pulse of innovation in retail, and he offered thoughtful responses that you’ll surely find valuable.

Erin: In your opinion, what will retailing look like in 5 years?

Scott: It’s hard to predict what retail will look like even 5 years out given the current rapid rate of change. I believe we will continue to see the lines between the online and in-store experiences disappear. Retailers will not only leverage more of their digital capabilities in-store but also try to deliver the unique physical experiences they provide in their stores to their digital channels. Technologies like augmented reality and virtual reality along with continued improvement in video technology and smarter artificial intelligence will have human-like interaction with the customer, which will contribute to deliver unique experiences.