Artificial Intelligence

By Pat Dermody, president, Retale

This is not a lecture about embracing digital. Chances are you have already heard that, read that, maybe even repeated it to yourself. If not, you had better hurry up.

Animal lovers have a new ally in Overstock.com thanks to a new service that leverages the online retailer’s digital capabilities to find homes for unwanted animals.

The company’s new pet adoption service allows users to access real-time updates of adoptable animals in thousands of shelters nationwide. Searches can be conducted by types and breeds of animal and filtered by attributes such as gender, age, color and disposition in much that same manner as Overstock.com’s customers search for products.

Lawrenceville, N.J. -- EBay, Google and Walmart have endorsed a new GS1 U.S. guide that resolves incorrect and duplicate product information online. Developed for e-tailers, retailers, e-commerce platform providers, content aggregators and content distributors, the GTIN Validation Guide offers best practices for leveraging GS1 standards to enhance the consumer shopping experience while boosting e-tailer efficiency, revenue and loyalty.

College Station, Texas -- The Center for Retailing Studies (CRS) at Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School has united with GameStop and IBM to found the GameStop Technology Institute (GTI), a consortium of technology corporations and academic institutions focused on discovering and delivering business innovation and technology solutions to better address the needs of today’s empowered consumer.

Washington, D.C. -- The National Retail Federation (NRF) told the Senate on March 26 that it’s time for an overhaul of the nation’s credit- and debit-card system, saying banks’ insistence on cards that use a signature instead of a Personal Identification Number (PIN) puts merchants and their customers at risk.

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart showcased its futuristic truck at the Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS) in Louisville, Ky. The Walmart Advanced Vehicle Experience is a tractor-trailer combination that features leading edge aerodynamics, an advanced turbine-powered range extending series hybrid powertrain, electrified auxiliary components, and sophisticated control systems, developed in support of the company’s sustainability program.

Walmart had heads turning this week at the Mid-America Trucking Show where it unveiled a futuristic concept vehicle unlike anything on the road today.

Wellesley, Mass. -- Mobiquity Technologies, Inc. has released its partner software development kit (SDK) designed to allow retailers and brands to leverage Mobiquity Networks’ (a wholly owned subsidiary) Bluetooth LE Beacon network. Mobiquity Networks already owns and operates a location-based, mobile advertising Bluetooth network in shopping malls, which supports Bluetooth LE Beacon technology.