Artificial Intelligence

TechBytes: Two Reasons Why Microsoft HoloLens May Disrupt Retail (and One Why It Might Not)
In another sign technology advancements are turning everyday life into the stuff of science fiction, Microsoft recently unveiled a new holographic computer system called HoloLens. Slated for official release this fall, HoloLens layers interactive 3-D holograms on top of the user’s physical surroundings, providing an “augmented reality” experience.
The next frontier of customer experience
Like many buzzwords in the industry, from cloud to big data, the term “digital” is evolving. Coining something as “digital” has always implied that it’s better or more advanced than the status quo. Remember when we moved from vinyl to compact discs? CDs had logos on them with the words "Compact disc DIGITAL AUDIO." Digital in this sense was the byword for ease of use, reliability and interference free music.

One-on-One at Retail's Big Show 2015: Q&A with Junction Solutions Brion Reusche

CSA Editor Marianne Wilson interviews Junction Solutions' Industry Principal, Retail, Brion Reusche, at NRF's Big Show 2015.
Five Mobile Messaging Tips for Retailers

By Scollay Petry, OtherLevels

Top of mind for retailers wanting to better engage with shoppers in their brick-and-mortar locations this holiday season are in-location technologies (e.g. beacons) and the personalization tactics they make possible. According to MediaPost, about 20% of retailers already use iBeacons, while 54% plan to implement the technology by 2015. With the promise of immediacy and “in-store engagement,” others undoubtedly will jump on the beacon bandwagon soon.
POS[itively] Limitless: The Components That Drive Total Reliability in Retail POS

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For Retailers, Payments Trump Omnichannel

By Amy ter Haar
U.K. online retailer boosts sales with Treepodia’s YouTube curation

London – If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then perhaps a video is worth 1,000 sales. U.K. electric appliance retailer ElectricShopping.com has increased unit sales by 37% using Treepodia’s new YouTube Fetcher service.
Reimagining IT for Omnichannel Retailing

By Will Poindexter and Coleman Mark, Bain & Company

Retailers need to quickly build world-class IT capabilities for omnichannel retailing — a seamless, integrated shopping experience, whether the customers are in the store or online. The major reason: customer expectations are rising, in part thanks to the strides made by new competitors with business models built on technology, and pure-play retailers like Amazon, which are not encumbered by legacy environments and physical stores.
Tech Guest Viewpoint: Three e-commerce trends to follow in 2015

By Marcel Munoz, CTO, Thanx Media

2014 was an interesting year in e-commerce. Who would have predicted that mobile commerce would explode the way it did? Advances in technology continue to influence consumer behavior and in turn their preferences are driving innovation in software and hardware.
TechBytes: Three Ways Mobile Has Gone Mainstream in Retail

As recently as a year or two ago, “mobile retailing” was a major industry buzzword. Everyone was busy trying to figure out how to best “mobile-enable” their enterprise.
Kohl’s accelerating omnichannel agenda

Buy online, pick up in store capabilities are being rolled out to all of Kohl’s nearly 1,200 stores this spring after a successful 100 store pilot program during the holidays.

And that just the beginning of the digital initiative the company has planned.

The addition of pick up in store to Kohl’s omnichannel offering puts the retailer on equal footing with others in the industry who have recognized in store pick up has quickly become a basic expectation shoppers have of retailers who operate physical stores.
A guide to the Internet of Things

With the Internet of Things (“IoT”) comes yet another technology-driven advancement that challenges businesses with promising opportunities and potentially vexing responsibilities. In particular, manufacturers and retailers who plan to sell (or are already selling) IoT devices increasingly face consumer questions about data security and privacy.