In their new book, "The Intuitive Customer," authors Colin Shaw and Ryan Hamilton contend that companies experiencing plateaus in their Net Promoter Scores cannot combat declining customer loyalty by cutting prices and focusing on cost.

In the heat of a customer service call, it's possible to turn things around using the empathy and understanding that come by really listening. Artificial intelligence is a tool increasingly employed to support call center reps by doing just that. I spoke with Josh Feast, CEO and co-founder of real-time emotional intelligence technology provider Cogito, about the impact on the bottom line. Here's an edited account of the conversation.

Online fashion has become increasingly visual, and mobile app Project September makes it shoppable as well. I spoke recently in New York with former Gilt CEO Alexis Maybank, now CEO of Project September, about what's been learned so far.

To explore the topic of sensory solutions - including the role of the human touch - we sat down with Ken Eissing, president of in-store media, and Danny Turner, global senior vice president for programming and production, both at Mood Media.