Apple, Inc.

More than 200 retail and technology professionals surveyed on show floor at the recent National Retail Federation convention offered a mix of disturbing and enlightening thoughts on the state of EMV readiness, omnichannel investments and mobile wallet winners.

The survey conducted in person by representatives of payments company ACI Worldwide at NRF’s Big Show revealed that:

Naples, Fla. -- With only nine months until the EMV migration deadline, retail and technology professionals are still unprepared, according to a recent survey by ACI Worldwide. The survey was conducted in January 2015 at the National Retail Federation’s 104th Annual Convention and Expo, “The Big Show,” in New York.

Principle findings of the survey included:

Seattle -- Amazon.com’s Amazon Wallet will never get the chance to make it out of beta. Multiple press reports indicate Amazon is shutting down its beta release of the mobile wallet application, which launched in July 2014.

San Francisco, Calif. - Apple accounted for 51% of the new device activations worldwide during the week leading up to and including Christmas Day (Dec. 19 - 25). According to data from mobile analytics provider Flurry, Christmas Day typically sees the highest number of new device activations and app installs each year, with 2014 following the trend.

Last week, I took a look back at three technologies that disrupted retail in 2014. Now that we are kicking off the first work week of the New Year, it’s time to look ahead at three technologies likely to disrupt retail in 2015.

Wearables

There’s been no shortage of developments in retail payments this past year. From high-profile data breaches forcing retailers to reconsider their security strategy, to the launch of Apple Pay bringing mobile to the forefront, both retailers and consumers have been paying unprecedented attention to their transactions.

With innovative players entering the fold and the U.S. payments infrastructure upgrade well under way, the industry is poised for a shift over the next several years.

New York – When it came to fulfilling holiday deliveries, Apple, Dell, Nordstrom and Zappos stood out among other major competitors. According to research from StellaService, all four provided an aggressive guarantee that orders placed by Dec. 23 would be delivered by Christmas and managed to meet that promise in all regions of the U.S.  

As 2014 draws to a close, it’s time to look back on another year of technological disruption in retail. While many solutions, applications and tools played a role in changing how retailers use technology in their business, three developments in particular stood out. Two of them did not actually launch in 2014, but this was the year they truly achieved their disruptive potential. So read on, and have a happy, prosperous and innovative New Year!   ApplePay