Artificial Intelligence

Target Corp. is continuing to hire tech experts for its ultra-secret “Goldfish” project, with the newest recruit being the former chief technology officer of sports news website Bleacher Report.     The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reported that Sam Parnell has joined Target with a title of VP of innovation, and be based in the company’s office in Sunnyvale, California.

Walmart is trimming administrative positions in some 500 stores in the West.   According to multiple media reports, the discount giant will cut three backroom accounting and invoicing positions at each store, for a total of 1,500 jobs. Affected employees will not be laid off, but instead offered front-of-store roles such as pharmacy technician or assisting pickups of online orders. Invoicing tasks will be shifted to corporate headquarters in Arkansas, while accounting functions will be automated.  

And then there were 10 — technology start-ups that is. And the lineup ranges from one that develops apps for supply chain inspectors to one that creates wearable technology that helps users prevent sexual assaults. 

Cars that drive themselves are yesterday’s news. The next big thing may be shopping carts that essentially do the same.   

Using walkie-talkies for in-store communication is old school at The Container Store.   The retailer is rolling out voice-controlled wearable devices that enable hands-free communication over Wi-Fi networks to its store employees chainwide following a successful pilot.   

For the retail industry, the storefront has taken on an entirely new meaning. The brick-and-mortar store is no longer the end-all-be-all in retailing, but the hub or pivotal point for a much larger movement – omnichannel retailing. Currently, traditional retailers compete for everything from having enough shelf-space, to engaging customers and bringing them into their physical store to make the final sale.

The blockbuster $26.2 billion purchase of LinkedIn by Microsoft may benefit retailers trying to effectively recruit and manage employees who typically do not stick around for long.   The acquisition is being touted as Microsoft’s entry into social networking, an area where the tech titan has not been that active besides holding a stake in Facebook. However, LinkedIn is primarily a professional services platform and will probably not become a major consumer touchpoint anytime soon.  

Customers of Wayfair Inc. no longer have to guess how items will look in their own personal spaces.

The online home furnishings and decor retailer has launched WayfairView, its new augmented reality (AR) smartphone application. Developed by Wayfair Next, the company’s in-house research and development team, the app, using Google technology, allows shoppers to visualize furniture and décor in their homes at full-scale before they make a purchase.