Artificial Intelligence

Lowe’s is making it even easier for in-store shoppers to locate home improvement necessities.   By tapping the power of augmented reality, the home improvement retailer introduced its Lowe's Vision: In-Store Navigation app. Called the first retail application of indoor mapping using augmented reality, the app is designed to simplify the home improvement shopping experience.   

Consumers feel good about some — but not all — retail technologies.    That’s according to a new study by Oracle, Retail 2025, which reveals that consumers are most willing to engage brands with new technology if they feel that they are in control of their experience.  

State-of-the-art digital screens that can identify demographic information of passersby and pitch them personalized offers from brands are making their way into Westfield malls in top DMAs.   Employing a proprietary suite of technologies, the six-foot-tall, high-definition screens scan passersby and — apparently through smartphone data and facial imaging — determine their demographic profiles to serve them customized ads.  

Amazon’s voice-controlled assistant is becoming a more powerful shopping tool.     Amazon announced on Tuesday that Prime Now subscribers can now use Alexa to order from Prime Now and its two-hour delivery service in the cities where it is available (30 in total at the present time).   In addition, customers can also order from Prime Now’s newly launched alcohol delivery service in the markets where it is offered.  

The nation’s largest retailer is delving deeper into e-commerce and evolving technology with its newest investment.   Walmart has formed Store No. 8, a technology incubator that will be based in the Silicon Valley. (The new initiative is named after an early Walmart store that company founder Sam Walton used to try out new retail strategies.)  

The use of artificial intelligence has given Charlotte Russe an important competitive edge.    With its online and mobile shopping communities growing larger and their expectations for flawless services increasing,   the apparel retailer turned to IBM to prepare for the busy and critical 2016, five-day holiday shopping season kick-off. To get a jump start, Charlotte Russe launched IBM’s Watson Customer Engagement solutions in seven months. And the technology immediately gave the retailer a wake-up call.  

The nation’s largest retailer is ready to put a whole new spin on merchandise fulfillment.   Speed is the name of the game in retail these days, in store and online.   

As the retail experience becomes increasingly digitally-influenced, retailers need a flexible point-of-sale (POS) system that can deliver a consistent brand experience at store level.    Nordstrom is taking steps to make this happen through a partnership with Infor to run POS in the cloud. Having a POS system in the cloud will give Nordstrom the tools to be more accurate and consistent across multiple locations, attend to customers more quickly, and better manage and track information, according to Infor.   

Time-starved shoppers expect their favorite grocers to have the staples they need when they enter the store — and supermarkets are hard-pressed to deliver.  

Converging channels, customization and constant connectivity are expected to change the shopping sector in the years ahead.   That is the main theme of a new study by Synchrony Financial, which examines consumer perspectives and shopping trends that are expected to change the retail industry by 2030.   “The future of retail will look dramatically different in 2030 than it does today,” said Whit Goodrich, CMO retail card, Synchrony Financial.