What: Bob Kupbens, NM's chief product and technology officer, says omnichannel luxury is challenging to execute but his company has a huge opportunity to engage customers in really different ways.

Why is it important : The Neiman Marcus Group is in recovery mode and prepared to be the only multibrand, true omnichannel luxury retailer.

So said Bob Kupbens, the company’s executive vice president, chief product and technology officer, at the Fairchild Media Group Tech Forum, in a discussion on initiatives and challenges at NMG.

Before the pandemic, the Dallas-based luxury retailer rolled out Connect, a digital tool for associates to personalize their communications with customers and communicate the way customers want, through either email, phone calls, or texting. Associates can also send photos and set up in-person appointments. Further helping NMG manage was the fact that the Bergdorf Goodman e-commerce website “did a really significant refresh before the pandemic, and an incredible job of pulling their customers through that period,” said Kupbens.

“Now as people are coming back to stores, we are starting to see strong recovery in traffic and sales. But our vision is less about individual transactions, and individual spaces and individual channels. It’s really about the connected end-to-end experience that spans physical and digital channels.”

With technologies, “We don’t have to be the cutting edge of everything…So when we think of places where we should be cutting edge, it’s about personalization, truly knowing our customers and acting on that. We’ve got some great wins around data science, and [product] recommendations.”

Months ago, NMG revealed plans to spend $85 million to upgrade its supply chain and modernize physical facilities, systems and technologies. “At the core, it’s way more about customer experience,” said Kupbens. “It’s things like faster shipping options, new capabilities, providing insight into inventory availability, reliable delivery estimates. It’s ultimately a key part of providing key services.”

In mid-June, NMG revealed its acquisition of Stylyze, a machine learning SaaS platform for advancing personalization, which has been integrated into NMG’s Connect clienteling tool. NMG also disclosed that it intends to spend more than USD 500 million over the next three years in technology and digital capabilities and partnering with more than 25 “key” technologies such as search and browse, product recommendations, financing, order tracking and returns, promotions, loyalty and ratings and reviews.

Connecting With Customers Through Technology at the Neiman Marcus Group