Machine Learning

Retailers at NRF’s Big Show are hearing a lot about “machine learning.” But what is it and how does it help retailers grow sales?

Machine learning, in which supercomputers learn from mining masses of data on the cloud without human intervention, unlocks insights into consumer demand.

Entering 2015 it is a good time for retailers to reflect on the changing state of digital advertising and how the most effective ads are increasingly shaped by smart optimization technologies.

One essential fact is driving this broad industry trend – consumers are becoming ever more reliant on their smartphones, tablets and wearable devices. This growing dependence on mobile devices has even ushered in a new term for “nomophobia,” which is the fear of having no mobile contact.

Entering 2015, it is a good time for retailers to reflect on the changing state of digital advertising and how the most effective ads are increasingly shaped by smart optimization technologies. One essential fact is driving this broad industry trend: consumers are becoming ever more reliant on their smartphones, tablets and wearable devices. This growing dependence on mobile devices has even ushered in a new term for “nomophobia,” which is the fear of having no mobile contact.

The nation’s newest mall in Sarasota, Fla., introduced shoppers to a new app with interesting navigation and personalization capabilities. Now the trick is driving downloads and usage.

New York - The Brits are no slouches when it comes to holiday advertisements.

The competition between British retail giants to come up with the most compelling TV ad grows more intense every holiday season.

This year, the biggest initial buzz was created by Sainsbury, with its depiction of the famous Christmas truce on the battlefields of World War I.

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona - JDA Software announced the creation of JDA Labs – a research and development group assembled to drive game-changing innovation.   This global team, headquartered in Montreal, will innovate new and existing products and deliver patents, best practices and entirely new products to the market. JDA Labs currently  is driving research and innovation around three key areas: data science, user experience and product innovation.  

North Bergen, N.J. – The Vitamin Shoppe has signed a multi-year renewal agreement for Revionics price optimization technology. Three years ago the Vitamin Shoppe implemented the Revionics price optimization platform in an effort to undertake a more strategic, data-driven approach to its pricing strategies and tactics.

As a focus area of retail technology, workforce management may not be quite as sexy as CRM or omnichannel commerce. However, a lot of very exciting stuff is currently happening in the world of workforce management, as attendees of the recent KronosWorks 2014 conference in Las Vegas discovered. Here is a brief summary of three of the hottest current workforce management trends.  

By John M. Pierre, Linguastat    The single greatest challenge that retailers face today is to have an individualized “conversation” with each customer and to do so on a global scale. Consumers expect a similar personalized experience regardless of channel, from the marketing offers they receive to the products that appear in search results.  

 

By Paul Rauker