Artificial Intelligence

Tech Bytes: Three Tech Learnings from SPECS
Technology-themed sessions were in abundance at Chain Store Age’s 52nd annual SPECS conference, which was held March 13-15 at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas. The conference focuses on store planning/design, equipment, construction and facility services, and IT is slowly but surely becoming a much bigger part of this end of the retail enterprise.

Here are three technology-related learnings from the conference.

Buildings get smart
What CPG companies need to win online
As the notion of channel conflict subsides, consumer packaged goods companies who don’t elevate their digital game are playing to lose and a new study from a two industry leaders shows just how much.

Report: Amazon wants to patent selfie payment

The struggle to dominate leading-edge mobile payment technology may be taking an even more competitive turn. According to Re/Code, Amazon.com has filed a patent application for a process that would allow consumers to authenticate mobile transactions with digital photos of themselves, rather than with passwords. MasterCard recently announced it will roll out a similar-sounding technology called “Selfie Pay.” [Re/Code]
SPECS Exclusive: Construction goes high tech

Although the construction industry lags other major verticals in IT spending, technology is still having a dramatic impact.

“We are at the intersection of technology and buildings,” said James M. Benham, CEO of construction technology firm JBKnowledge, during a session at Chain Store Age’s SPECS 2016 conference at Hilton Anatole in Dallas, March 13-15. The session, “Future Forecast: Drones, Sensors, Integrated Apps,” examined how leading-edge technology is changing the construction industry.
Target CIO offers on-the-job insights

Mike McNamara, CIO of Target Corp., recently spoke on the role of today’s CIO at the Forbes CIO Summit.

McNamara has been serving as CIO of Target of eight months, having come from international grocery retailer Tesco. He shared insights such as how the rapid adoption of smartphones has been a game-changer for both consumers and corporate IT teams, the ongoing shift underway from legacy software and mainframe systems to cloud and open-source technologies, and the need to build a team of curious, analytical problem-solvers.
Best Buy adds Silicon Valley heft to board

The board of directors at Best Buy Co. is losing a longtime board member and gaining a new voice with experience in forming relationships with top venture capitalists in Silicon Valley.

The retailer announced that former CEO Brad Anderson will retire from the board of directors and that the company has appointed corporate venture capital leader Claudia Fan Munce to the board.Anderson will serve the remainder of his term through the end of the annual shareholder meeting on June 14. Munce will stand for election at that time.
TechBytes – Five SPECS Sessions for IT Pros

Chain Store Age’s 52nd annual SPECS conference starts March 13 at Hotel Anatole in Dallas. Although the conference focuses on store planning/design, equipment, construction and facility services, it offers several sessions that are of great potential interest to retail IT professionals. Here is a brief overview of five technology-themed SPECS conferences.
eBags unpacks digital innovation

Specialty online luggage retailer eBags is on a mission to offer customers the most advanced and immersive experience possible.
Seven signs of online fraud

Everyone knows detecting fraudulent e-commerce activity is crucial, but how do you know when something is up?

Fraud detection provider Simility aggregated patterns across 500,000 browser-based devices throughout January 2016. Analysts looked for patterns in the 10,000 (or 2%) of those devices that were in the hands of fraudsters and contrasted those with the other 98% of devices in the hands of good or “organic” users.

Simility discovered seven anomalies that were leading indicators of fraud:
Exclusive: Deliv CEO dishes on crowdsourced delivery

Chain Store Age recently spoke with Daphne Carmeli, CEO of Deliv, to get her perspective on what’s going on in the rapidly growing online delivery space.

What is driving growing consumer interest in online delivery?
We’ve got a bunch of players in the industry who are aggregating inventory in a simple, flexible and cost-effective way for last-mile fulfillment. Companies like Amazon and Google are resetting customer expectations of what’s possible.
Exclusive: Deliv CEO dishes on crowdsourced delivery

Chain Store Age recently spoke with Daphne Carmeli, CEO of Deliv, to get her perspective on what’s going on in the rapidly growing online delivery space.

What is driving growing consumer interest in online delivery?
We’ve got a bunch of players in the industry who are aggregating inventory in a simple, flexible and cost-effective way for last-mile fulfillment. Companies like Amazon and Google are resetting customer expectations of what’s possible.
How to improve omnichannel profitability

Omnichannel retailing — or as it is increasingly known, “retailing” — is complex and can increase costs for retailers. Here are a few ways retailers can improve store-level fulfillment to increase both profits and customer service.