Glasses are a tool for survival for many, but let’s be honest, people want to look cool too. And Zenni’s new chief technology officer wants to help consumers with that.

David Ting has been with the company for just over a year, but during his short tenure has elevated Zenni’s technological capabilities to help it contend with the industry’s major players such as Warby Parker and GlassesUSA. The evolving AI landscape is becoming increasingly competitive due to consumers’ elevated expectations around the customer experience—and glasses are no exception.

In May, Zenni introduced a new, AI-powered image search tool on its app and website that allows customers to upload a picture of any style of glasses they like and immediately find similar versions within Zenni’s catalog.

• Before making a purchase, shoppers can virtually try on glasses by submitting their own image or photo of their desired style.
• Additionally, Zenni provides stock photos of glasses customers can browse to find matching frames that the company carries in its inventory.

Alongside the image search tool, Zenni also launched a prescription scan feature that reads a customer’s prescription, so they do not have to manually enter the information.

“It shows you if it’s too small, what’s the right size, so it’s a mirror, but then you don’t have to have that physical on and off, you can just scroll through a number of looks very quickly,” Ting told Retail Brew.

Turning the corner: Zenni’s new tech approach comes at a pivotal time for the company, which earlier this year celebrated its 20th anniversary and surpassed 51 million pairs of eyeglasses sold.

Keep reading here.—KM

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If you’ve been sweating the record-breaking heat across the United States, you’ll (maybe) enjoy this week’s edition because we’re looking ahead to fall.

In shopping: Yes, parents. It’s that time of year. Today marks the beginning of Florida’s annual back-to-school sales tax holiday that runs through August 6. Items that will be exempt from sales tax include:

• Clothing, footwear, and some accessories costing less than $100 per item
• Select school supplies that are $50 or less
• Learning aids and jigsaw puzzles that cost $30 or less
• Computers and some related accessories for noncommercial home or personal use with a sales price of $1,500 or less

In real holidays: Speaking of the fall, the flagship Spirit Halloween store in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, opens its doors on Saturday. It’s the first of 1,500 locations that will re-open starting the first week of August and through the end of September.

• Spirit Halloween’s store locator will be available to shoppers starting today.
• It’s the store’s 40th anniversary.

In events: Today, the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) will begin a three-day networking event just outside of Boston called ICSC@New England, where experts in the shopping center and marketplaces industry will gather. On Wednesday, retailers will have the opportunity to showcase their brands at the Retailer Central event.

Keep reading here.—KM

“The best office snacks are chocolate-chip granola bars, kettle-cooked potato chips, and cold cans of pamplemousse La Croix. There is no study proving this, but it’s not opinion; it’s supported by facts (aka my taste buds). But at Austin, Texas-based Tito’s Handmade Vodka, a 14-acre farm changed the office-food game,” writes HR Brew’s Adam DeRose:

The company offers employees fresh fruit and vegetables each day for lunch, and sponsors a free farmers market three days a week where employees can pick out and take home produce to cook with their families.

Read the whole story here on HR Brew.

Today’s top retail reads.

Warn thin: Why warning labels on products may do little, and consumer advocates would prefer to see more attention to safe product design instead. (CNBC)

Dove real duty: Unilever, which has not ceased operations in Russia, acknowledged its employees there are subject to being conscripted into the Russian army and that it would permit them to serve. (BBC)

Nipped in the Bud: How Modelo Especial became the best-selling beer in the US. (the New York Times)

Ready to check out:…how the first half of 2023 treated retail? Placer.ai’s white paper breaks down the year’s biggest retail wins so far—and which emerging customer trends to watch. Get it here.*

^{*This is sponsored advertising content.}