News

APPLEBEE’S GIVES CUSTOMERS MORE CONTROL OF DINING EXPERIENCE

Casual dining chain Applebee’s is looking to redefine and enhance its guest experience by placing tablets tableside. The company plans to deploy 100,000 devices — E la Carte Presto tablets, powered by Intel — chainwide by the end of 2014. It is installing the tablets on every table and in multiple bar positions at its more than 1,8000 U.S. restaurants.

Hampshire, U.K. - Annual retail payments on mobile handsets and tablets are expected to reach $707 billion by 2018, representing 30% of all e-retail by that time. According to a new Juniper Research report, “Mobile Payment for Digital & Physical Goods: Opportunities & Forecast 2014-2018,” this compares with mobile retail spend of $182 billion in 2012, when mobile accounted for around 15% of e-retail.

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 mobile channel by definition extends retailing to an almost limitless range of touchpoints, since mobile devices bring the store to wherever the customer goes. Yet current trends in mobile retailing center on tying disparate touchpoints closer together using mobile technology.

Las Vegas -- Facial visualization and imaging technology company ModiFace is introducing a 3-D Augmented Reality Makeup and Anti-Aging Mirror to help beauty brands and retailers market their products to consumers standing at cosmetic counters, as well as shopping at home.

The WhiteWave Foods Company has named Kevin C. Yost as president of the company’s newly acquired Earthbound Farm business. Charlie Sweat, previously CEO of Earthbound Farm, will move into an advisory role to ensure a smooth transition.

The rest of the Earthbound Farm management team will continue to serve in their current roles.

The International Council of Shopping Centers created a terrorist-awareness training program shortly after 9/11. At the time, there were no training programs in place for the shopping center industry.

“We hired George Washington University to develop a program and funded the work with $2 million,” said Malachy Kavanagh, ICSC spokesperson. “We created a 10-module course that is delivered over the Internet. You can learn at your own pace. If you work right through, it will take 14 to 15 hours.”

While we wait for all of the official numbers to come in from the 2013 holiday shopping season — a topic I’ll address in a future column — I thought this might be a good time to expand on one of the points I made about retail downsizing in my 2014 forecast piece.