Retail Stores Adopt High-Tech Means To Compete With Online Rivals

Brick-and-mortar retail stores are using technology to regain market share lost to online retailers. With 58 percent of the U.S. population forecast to be online shoppers by 2016, according to a 2012 report from Forrester, retailers are adopting consumer-oriented technologies, such as the Me-Ality Size-Matching Station which analyzes the shopper's body and determines the brand, size, and style that will fit best. Beauty retailer Sephora partnered with Pantone LLC to develop Color IQ, a technology designed to help women choose make-up products that match their skin tone. Seattle-based men's clothing store Hointer combines the benefits of a physical store with the convenience and fast service of an online store to better serve shoppers.