Artificial Intelligence

San Francisco -- Kenshoo, a provider of predictive media optimization technology, announced the beta release of its newest digital marketing targeting solution, Intent-Driven Audiences (IDA), which matches clicks on search engine ads to audiences on Facebook in real-time. This allows marketers to show ads to consumers that have searched for specific keywords and also use Facebook’s targeting capabilities to find more customers like them.

By Anand Medepalli, VP of Solution Strategy, JDA Software Group Inc.

There will be more changes in retail the next 10 years than what has been seen in the last 50 years. Maybe that’s why omnichannel retailing is a hot topic. Omnichannel retailing centers on providing a seamless shopping experience regardless of channel to deliver a unified and customized shopping experience.

Automated assortment targeting is one of the most important technology-aided merchandising strategies to develop in the past 10 years. Retailers can use advanced algorithmic and behavioral tracking solutions to instantly determine what items a customer is most likely to buy and present them in a way that maximizes conversion potential. Omnichannel devices like smartphones, tablets and kiosks allow retailers to effectively deliver personalized assortments within the confines of a physical store, as well as online.

Finance executive Sven Wehrwein is the newest member of the Quantum Retail Technology board of directors.

The Minneapolis-based retail technology company said Wehrwein’s addition to the board brings growth expertise and knowledge of corporate finance.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears is testing “Connected Solutions” experiential shops that bring together smart, or connected, home and personal automation products. The 1,700-sq.-ft. shops are being piloted in three Sears locations in the Chicago area, including Woodfield Mall, Schaumburg, Illinois; and Oakbrook Center, Oakbrook, Illinois.

Coinstar is closing in on its one billionth transaction and using the occasion as the basis for a contest to drive engagement on Facebook.

Thought-provoking presentations and forward-looking exchanges dominated the annual gathering of the Global Retail Marketing Association’s (GMRA) Executive Leadership Forum at the Don Cesar resort on St. Petersburg Beach, Fla.
 

Fairfield, Conn. - GE Lighting and ByteLight are introducing LED lighting fixtures that communicate with shoppers’ smart devices while in-store, enabling retailers to provide location-based services using GE LED infrastructure. ByteLight’s indoor location technology embedded inside GE LED fixtures will provide the ability to understand the precise location of shoppers using an opt-in application powered by ByteLight on their smartphones and tablets.