Artificial Intelligence

By Carole Murphy

Pleasanton, Calif. -- Safeway and Giant Eagle are rolling out the inMarket Mobile to Mortar iBeacon location sensing platform at more than 150 grocery stores in Seattle, San Francisco, and Cleveland, with additional retailers and markets launching in the coming months. iBeacons are micro-location technology that use a low-energy Bluetooth signal to enable unique mobile app experiences based on the customer’s location in the store.

Sooner or later, disruption occurs in almost every sphere of human activity. While the radical upending of long-established norms and conventions is not always a positive development, oftentimes disruptive forces enable a burst of creativity and innovation that move an industry toward new levels of success and achievement.

Restaurants, retailers partner with STM Mobile Loyalty Program

Technology-enabled customer disruption is not strictly the province of retailers. Montreal’s public transportation authority, Société de transport de Montréal (STM), is in the midst of a successful pilot of a loyalty program that uses advanced geolocation and real-time mobile messaging to disrupt the public transportation customer experience. And in another sign of how traditional silos in the customer experience are falling, retailers are playing an active role. 

Former Motorola executive and early stage technology investor Richard N. Nottenburg, PhD, has joined the board of Theatro, a startup focused on wearable devices.

Nottenburg previously served as president and CEO and a member of the board of directors of Sonus Networks from 2008 to 2010. From 2004 until 2008, Nottenburg was an officer with Motorola, ultimately serving as its EVP, chief strategy officer and chief technology officer. He currently serves on the boards of PMC Sierra, Verint Systems and Aeroflex Corporation.

The emergence of omnichannel commerce is dramatically changing the retail equation, both in how customers travel the path to purchase and how retailers anticipate and meet customer demand. Mike Webster, senior VP and general manager of Oracle Retail, offered Chain Store Age his perspective on how retailers must alter their approach to both systems and business processes to ensure they deliver a seamless experience across all customer touchpoints, one that both converts sales and builds long-term satisfaction and loyalty.   

From LEDs and controls to rebates and incentives, lighting presents retailers with a myriad of opportunities for savings. Chain Store Age spoke with Regency Lighting’s Judah Regenstreif about lighting trends and the potential for savings, in new stores and existing locations.

What are some of the major trends Regency is seeing in retail lighting?

Austin, Texas – Shelfbucks Inc. has appointed a 25-member advisory board of senior corporate executives and business school leaders. Launched in October 2013, Shelfbucks delivers a smartphone-based technology that capitalizes on iBeacon, Bluetooth Low Energy and Near Field Communications to enable retailers to communicate special offers, coupons and other information directly to consumers in the retail setting.