Artificial Intelligence

I remember something a retailer once said to me more than 25 years ago, long before digital mattered. It’s still true today: If the product’s not right, nothing matters. If the product is right, everything matters. That everything now includes staying ahead of the consumer digitally. We’ve gone from a generation that saw technology as a skill to one that doesn’t see it at all — it’s so natural it’s become instinct. This shopper lives in a world where digital doesn’t just define shopping habits — it defines the way shoppers live.

One trend that will likely become more prevalent in 2016 is visual search, the ability to click on an image of a product and obtain information or even make a purchase, without typing in any words.

Urban Outfitters and other select retailers are offering visual search capabilities, and the failed Amazon Fire smartphone essentially made the world into an Amazon showroom with an advanced virtual search tool.

There is an increasing difficulty in maintaining a skilled technical workforce. As the current workforce ages, technical experts are harder to find and concerns arise around workforce costs.

Chain Store Age spoke to industry experts to get a sense of where four strong trends in retail technology — mobile payment, same-day delivery, Internet of Things and social commerce — are heading in 2016. We also offer a sneak peek at the burgeoning trend of visual search.

In 2016, retail chains will continue to face increasing competition and high consumer expectations. Changing regulations will also impact retail businesses. We see the regulatory issues below as the most critical for the retail industry this year and beyond.

Westfield Corporation established Westfield Labs in 2013 with the purpose of innovating the retail environment. And this year the company did just that with the opening of BESPOKE at Westfield San Francisco Centre. The 37,000-sq.-ft. space incorporates co-working, event and technology demo spaces all under one dome. With an eye for retail, and a heart for tech, Westfield wanted to create a place where fashion runway shows and hackathons could happen side by side.

Having just inked a deal to serve as a mobile and online payment platform for Walmart, MasterCard is looking to devices to widen its range in the digital payment space and has even launched a new grocery initiative.

Female executives take leading roles in retail IT arena

If a “leader” is someone who knows how to take charge, achieve goals and inspire others along the way — even in the most trying of circumstances — then the women featured in this special section are leaders in every sense of the word. They have toiled and proved their mettle — and smarts — in a field that traditionally has not been all that female-friendly: technology.