Artificial Intelligence

Cambridge, U.K. -- Grafton Shopping Centre, Cambridge, is hoping to dazzle shoppers with a “virtual” employee who greets customers when they enter the mall. The shopping center is using the Tensator Virtual Assistant, innovative technology which projects a life-like image of a person.

The display interacts with customers, answering common questions and promoting mall offers. This is the very first use of the technology in a United Kingdom shopping mall.

Atlanta - Card.com, a provider of mobile prepaid debit cards, is partnering with IDology, a vendor of technology solutions that verify an individual’s identity and deter fraud anywhere in the payments value chain. Card.com has integrated IDology’s real-time, on demand identity verification and fraud prevention solution into their Customer Identification Program (CIP) process in order to improve their customer approval cycle, streamlining customer onboarding while also preventing fraud.

Lowe's has launched new products for its Iris smart home solution. The move comes three weeks after Staples threw its hat into the connected home space with its own platform.

The home improvement company has added a smart garage door controller, electronic pet door, window blinds controller and hose faucet timer to make it easier to cut energy costs, reduce water usage and keep the home secure while consumers balance active summer schedules.

New York - Shopping app Stylewhile is launching a new online marketplace for emerging and independent designers. The iPad app allows users to virtually try-on different items, mix and match pieces from multiple brands, and buy online.

Stylewhile's virtual fitting room service allows users to try on clothes on a model of a chosen body type. Established retailers and brands will also be available through the app, meaning shoppers can mix and match multiple brands in the one look.

By Tyler Roye, Co-founder and CEO, eGifter

Macy’s has announced a series of new initiatives in its multi-year strategic program to enhance environmental sustainability. They are consistent with the company’s sustainability principles first adopted in 2008 and implemented with increasing intensity during the past six years.

Results through 2013 include a 38% reduction in the company’s electricity usage since 2002 and a 95% adoption rate of recycled or certified paper used in the company’s marketing materials.

The revelation that IBM and Apple would be working together on a new range of mobile solutions is a huge development in its own right, but the landmark deal also promises to have a wide-ranging impact on the retail industry.

New York -- Chief marketing officers and chief information officers are working more collaboratively than in the past to take advantage of digital opportunities, but they remain at odds on issues involving how to drive integrated digital marketing solutions for their customers, according to a new study by Accenture.

The report, “Cutting Across the CMO-CIO Divide, reveals  a growing collaboration between CMOs and CIOs – 43% of marketers and 50% of IT leaders think their relationship with the other has improved over the past year.