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H&M overhauls its onsite search across more than 60 markets in technology partnership with Voyado. H&M has overhauled its onsite search across more than 60 markets, working with Voyado. The retailer says that the move away from keyword matching to an intent driven model has reduced soft exits (where shoppers drift off because of friction rather than choice) by 80% and cut customer exits from search by 30%. Rather than matching search terms to product names, the new setup reads a range of signals at once: stock availability, add to bag actions, purchase behaviour, product newness, revenue performance and customer intent and updates rankings in real-time. "As our business grew, we needed a more intelligent approach to search, ranking, and discovery. We found Voyado to be the best fit for us." says Lars Gezelius, Acting Global Head of Digital at H&M. Erica Sandelin Ekelund, CEO at Voyado, says: "Search is a clear signal of what customers actually want. When a customer searches, they're not browsing - they're telling you. And many retailers are throwing that signal away. H&M recognised the value and used it to rebuild their customer experience from the ground up, and the numbers confirm they were right. The most successful retailers won't be those with the most extensive catalogues. They'll be the ones who understand their customers and what they actually came for." 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world. Its winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November. Its 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson. In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: "This is the awards' fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA's HQ in the West End." "But I'm conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You're only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we've moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records." He added: "This year's submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable." Congratulations to its winners, and a big thank you to its sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended its 2025 gathering.

17-year-old fashion retailer closing all stores. September 26, 2026 When people are worried about paying their mortgage and putting food on the table, what they're wearing tends to become less of a focus. "A long-feared cyclical slowdown has arrived. Consumers, affected by the recent period of high inflation, are increasingly price-sensitive. There is also the surprising rise of dupes, the acceleration of climate change, and the continued reshuffling of global trade," according to McKinsey's State of Fashion 2025. Fast-fashion chains, which offer lower prices, should be resilient during challenging economic times. Yet chains like Rhapsodielle, a regional fast-fashion brand, have faced the same controversies and consumer pushback over environmental concerns as bigger brands such as H&M and Shein. Now, Rhapsodielle has shared plans to close down all of its stores. Rhapsodielle shares shutdown plan. Rhapsodielle has decided to close all of its stores. The shutdown notifications began with an Instagram Post confirming the shutdown of the Henderson, Nevada, location. "As we prepare to close this chapter, we invite you to visit us one last time," said the Instagram post. "Thank you for allowing us to be a small part of your lives, your celebrations and your everyday moments," the company shared. That was followed by the company sharing that all of its remaining stores would be closing. "Rhapsodielle employees confirmed its remaining two locations will be closing at the end of October. The storefronts are at 8455 W. Warm Springs Road and 1300 W. Sunset Road, Suite 1211, inside the Mershops Galleria at Sunset in Henderson," according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The chain will still accept store credit and gift cards until it closes, according to the Instagram post. Previously, the retailer closed its North Nellis and East Charleston Boulevard location, as well as its West Charleston and South Rampart Boulevard locations. Both of the locations are listed as "permanently closed" on Apple Maps, the Review-Journal added. RTM Nexus CEO Dominick Miserandino thinks that Rhapsodielle faces issues beyond the problems H&M and Schein have struggled with. "The problem for a smaller fast-fashion chain is the math. You have rent, labor, and inventory tied up in physical stores, while the customer can compare you against dozens of online alternatives in seconds. If you miss a trend or buy too deeply, you are marking it down to get it out the door. You don't need many mistakes like that before a store stops making economic sense," he told TheStreet. Here's why fast-fashion chains are struggling. Fast-fashion chains have faced significant pushback over their impact on the environment. "People in the U.S. throw away at least 17 million tons of textiles every year - about 100 pounds of clothing per person. At the same time, unsold blouses, jackets, and other fashion-industry leftovers end up in dumps such as the one in Chile's Atacama Desert, so vast as to be visible from space. Many of these items are fast fashion - made quickly, sold cheaply, and in style for too short a time because the industry relies on novelty to keep consumers buying," Scientific American reported. That's a bigger problem than it seems. "Every year the global garment industry emits up to 10% of the world's greenhouse gas output and uses enough water to fill at least 37 million Olympic-size swimming pools," the publication shared. Fast-fashion retailers sit in an odd place because consumers do want cheap clothes. "Even though shoppers have proven less willing than hoped to pay extra for planet-friendly products, making the business case for sustainability less obvious to executives among other competing priorities, the mounting cost of climate change, and government action to combat it, mean sustainability must remain at the top of the agenda," according to McKinsey. Fast fashion has also been hit by higher costs due to tariffs, although that has been a fluid situation. "It takes a little bit of their competitive edge away," GlobalData Managing Director Neil Saunders told the Los Angeles Times. "They either have to take a hit on their margins," Saunders said, "or they have to put prices up for the consumer, and given that their whole business model is low prices, it might reduce sales." Rhapsodielle quick facts: * Las Vegas-area fast-fashion retailer founded by Julie Kwon in 2009. * The retailer is closing its final two stores at the end of October 2026. * Rhapsodielle previously operated four other Las Vegas-area stores, including locations on North Nellis, East Charleston, West Charleston, and South Rampart. * The retailer's website describes Rhapsodielle as offering fast fashion at affordable prices. * Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal, Rhapsodielle, Better Business Bureau