Artificial Intelligence

New York - Twitter keeps on coming up with new ways to let advertisers connect with consumers—and now it’s moving into the brick-and-mortar space. In its first  On Tuesday, the social media giant launched a pilot for a new feature called Twitter Offers, which enables brands and companies to create card-linked promotions and share them directly with Twitter users. The user can redeem the discount simply by paying with the synced card in the retailer’s physical store or online shop.

Optimized centers provide greater flexibility

For children on a long journey, the typical refrain is, “Are we there yet?” However, for retail IT practitioners and executives, the challenge is not in waiting to get “there,” but figuring out what “there” even is. The question for the IT journey on which retailers are now traveling can be more appropriately phrased as, “Where are we going?”

AUSTIN, Texas - Office Depot is currently utilizing a new location-based mobile marketing app, Shazom In-Store, in all of its Office Depot and OfficeMax retail store locations throughout the country. The solution combines Shazam, one of the world’s most popular apps, with proprietary technology from Mood Media.

MakerBot and Staples announced today that MakerBot  Replicator 3D Printers and MakerBot Digitizer Desktop 3D Scanners are now available in 50 select Staples retail stores across 18 states. MakerBot is Staples’ exclusive provider in-store of 3D printing hardware, with premium in-store experiences to showcase the entire MakerBot 3D Ecosystem.  This partnership makes Staples the exclusive office supply company to offer MakerBot 3D printing and scanning products in the store.

With the recent announcement that it will build a new digital innovation lab in Boston, CVS Health has joined the ranks of retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores and Target Corp,  who have also launched similar facilities.  Not every retailer is in the position to build its own proprietary innovation hot house,  but there are many advantages for those with the resources to do so.  Following are three key reasons that retail innovation labs are a good idea.

Americans’ well-founded apprehension about the security of their personal information received a booster shot of sorts when 60 Minutes aired a disturbing piece about the state of digital security.

Retail Strategy: Top Issues Facing Retail CIOs  David Dorf, Oracle   It wasn’t long ago that the main expectations for the retailer CIO were to keep the servers running, desktops patched, and store-based POS systems taking money.  Today, the CIO fulfills a more strategic role, one that impacts the organization’s ability to adapt to changing consumer preferences, preserve margins and serve customers.  Here is a look at the top issues facing retail CIOs today: