Artificial Intelligence

While a majority of shoppers are ready to shop online this holiday season, many will sit out Cyber Monday this year.   This detail was highlighted in “Computop 2016 Holiday Shopping Study.” Computop’s report, which is based on responses from over 1,900 consumers across the United States and UK, found that 76% planned to shop online this holiday season. However, 62% of those respondents don’t plan to shop on Cyber Monday, noting it doesn’t offer the deals it used to previously.  

Wayfair is so bullish on virtual reality that it launched its second app — a solution designed to guide shoppers through virtual showrooms.   Available on Daydream, Google’s mobile VR platform, Wayfair’s IdeaSpace app enables consumers to explore a variety of uniquely designed spaces, and shop their favorite finds in an interactive setting. IdeaSpace was built by Wayfair Next, the company’s internal research and development team, using Google’s virtual reality technology.   

The Trump campaign hired a British data firm that collects data gleamed from such sources retailers’ loyalty cards to help target potential voters.   

Pinterest is launching a new program designed to help brand partners present more relevant advertising messages to Pinners.   Through a partnership with Neustar, Pinterest’s marketing partners now have a solution that leverages the social media platform’s customer-specific information as well as Neustar’s proprietary audiences. The combination of data gives advertisers a standardized view of customer across every marketing channel, and an unprecedented reach among customers.   

In a move to spur its digital transformation, Toys “R” Us has appointed Amit Poddar to head up its digital engineering team.   Poddar is joining the toy retailer as senior VP, chief software architect. The addition is the latest strategic move within the company’s massive digital transformation, a project that is focused on integrating technology into every part of the business, and creating a more customer-centric operation.   

When retail consisted mainly of brick and mortar stores, the role of the chief merchandising officer (CMO) focused almost exclusively on selecting merchandise, designing display strategies and planograms and driving category performance. This role was typically held by people who rose into the role as buyers. That’s because buyers first and foremost excel at spotting the next hottest trend while also having a keen eye on the dollars and cents side of the business.   

Chain Store Age will sponsor a webinar on one of the most important issues facing store retailers: How to give frontline store associates the critical knowledge they need to drive sales and customer satisfaction.     

In the summer of 2016, Pokémon Go was everywhere. And as players traversed the globe in search of the game’s titular critters, they were also wandering into new legal territory. Although the craze now appears to have subsided, the game’s sudden popularity raised intriguing legal questions that will inevitably affect the future of mobile applications and their relationship to retail businesses.  

Target Corp. continues to beef up its supply chain management capabilities.    The discounter announced it has appointed Shekar Natarajan to the newly-created role of senior VP, network planning and operational design, effective Nov. 20.   Natarajan, a 15-year supply chain veteran, was most recently VP of last mile operations, emerging sciences and operational excellence at Walmart. He also held leadership roles at Walt Disney Company, Anheuser Busch and PepsiCo.   

“Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future," as Nils Bohr, the Nobel laureate physicist put it. But as the end of 2016 approaches, it’s useful to look forward and try to anticipate the cybersecurity trends that lie ahead, and to reflect on what’s happened over the past year, to see how accurate previous predictions were.    For 2016, our predicted cybersecurity threats included: