Artificial Intelligence

Framingham, Mass. – Staples is introducing Staples Connect, an offering that lets customers’ home or office technology interact and be controlled by a single app. With the touch of a button, Staples Connect lets customers shut down their office, turning off lights, lowering shades and locking doors, while at the same time turning on their lights and heat at home.

Staples has launched Staples Connect, an offering that lets customers’ home or office technology interact and be controlled by a single app. 

With the touch of a button, Staples Connect lets customers shut down their office, turning off lights, lowering shades and locking doors, while at the same time turning on their lights and heat at home.

Dunnhumby, a leading customer science company, has launched Dunnhumby Ventures, a seed-stage investment fund focusing on innovations in retail technology. 

Dunnhumby Ventures will serve as a support mechanism for innovators, helping to fund startup businesses that are embracing data for innovations along the consumer’s path to purchase. Dunnhumby Ventures will also provide strategic input and mentorship. Average initial investments will range from $100,000 to $500,000.

Traditionally, retailers relied on advertising and direct response to succeed. To make more money, retailers simply let more people know about their stores and products.

By Jeff Wakefield, Verifone

Mobility. It is such a broad concept, meaning different things to merchants and consumers. Mobile acceptance, mobile payments, mobile POS, mobile shopping – each plays a distinct part in the overall mobile experience and each has different risks and rewards.

Within this larger mobile arena, the security of the mobile payment device offers the greatest risk for both merchants and consumers alike.

Naperville, Ill. -- OfficeMax has opened a digital innovation collaboration center (called Digital IC2) in its headquarters in Naperville, Ill.

Dallas -- PeopleAnswers and New York & Company announced a software licensing agreement for the specialty apparel chain with more than 500 stores nationwide to use the PeopleAnswers HR-focused business solution to recommend employee candidates who can guide their customers to make smart fashion purchase decisions.

By Anna Convey, OpenSpan

Technology is advancing to the degree where almost any digital consumer touchpoint has the potential to become a very real storefront. Video games, blog and social media postings, apps, and virtually any other digital environment that directly engages consumers either currently is or soon will be able to serve as a fully functioning storefront where transactions can be executed.

LAKE FOREST, Calif. — Frozen shipping logistics solutions provider Cryoport has elected Edward J. Zecchini to its board of directors. 

Zecchini has more than 30 years of experience in the healthcare and information technology industries. With this appointment, the Cryoport board now has four members, of whom three are independent directors, including Zecchini.