Artificial Intelligence

New York -- As the use in-store mobile payment becomes more pervasive, consumers require increased education on the performance and ease of use of mobile pay services, a recent survey by Verifone of U.S. consumer attitudes suggested.

Retailers loking to take retail innovation to the next level may want to look at GameStop and its new omnichannel partnership with Microsoft.

The video game retailer announced Monday at NRF’s Big Show that it will use Microsoft's Azure cloud-powered network "enhance the in-store engagement of its customers in interactive, informative, and entertaining ways."

GameStop will be one of the first retailers to use Azure to stream video game and promotional content direct to customer and store associate mobile devices.

New York - Kurt Salmon, Tyco Retail Solutions, and Mobispoke are partnering to enable retailers to provide a more cutting-edge store experience that includes interactive mannequins, fixtures and fitting rooms, as well as connected employees. The alliance is anchored by an interactive demonstration lab at Tyco’s Retail Experience Center.  

As uncertainty continues to swirl around Bitcoin and its role in the future of payments, Overstock.com is rushing full-speed ahead in embracing the digital currency.

The online retailer has installed a Bitcoin ATM at its corporate headquarters in Salt Lake City. The ATM is accessible 24 hours a day and allows the public to convert U.S. dollars to Bitcoin, and Bitcoin to U.S. dollars.

To simplify retailers’ IT environments while helping them deliver the commerce anywhere experience consumers expect, Oracle unveiled enhancements to its retail portfolio with the launch of Oracle Retail Release14.1. This release builds on Oracle’s strategy for the combination of Oracle and MICROS, as well as its retail offerings in the cloud.

Another January, another NRF “Big Show” in New York. The annual meeting officially kicks off on Sunday. Here’s my early take on what to expect from exhibitors at the show:

1. More Cooperation With Retailers

Karenann Terrell, Walmart’s Chief Information Officer, is among a distinguished group of female executives singled out by Retailing Today sister publication Chain Store Age as The Top 10 Women in Tech.

This is the age of the empowered consumer. Energized by the rapidly accelerating global growth of mobile devices, shoppers now have immediate access to data on products, prices and competitive services. In addition to shifting the balance of power away from retailers and manufacturers, the spread of information and the growth of technologically sophisticated pure-play retailers have contributed to rapidly rising expectations about just how personalized and participatory the shopping experience can be.