TECHNOLOGY

Lowes Foods knows the key to success is retaining your best, most profitable shoppers.   By extending its partnership with ProLogic, the engine behind the grocer’s Fresh Rewards loyalty program, the chain will continue to award customers with instant rewards for merchandise throughout its 100 stores, and gas at participating Speedway and Lowes Foods gas stations.   

As we head into 2017, retail chief marketing officers are under the gun more than ever before to produce measurable results. Jobs are on the line, as CEOs demand evidence that increased marketing technology investments are paying off. And that spending won’t slow down soon: Gartner recently doubled down on its prediction that CMOs will outspend their CIO counterparts on technology in this coming year.   

A 12-year-old CEO is among the 25 individuals named to the National Retail Foundation’s 2017 List of People Shaping Retail’s Future.    Mikaila Ulmer, founder and CEO of Me & The Bees Lemonade http://gala.nrf.com/the-list-2017#MIKAILA-ULMER, is the youngest of the list’s honorees, all of whom will be recognized at the NRF Foundation Gala on January 15 during the NRF Big Show in New York City.  

Coming soon to Starbucks: virtual baristas.   The coffee giant plans to add a Siri-like virtual assistant to its mobile app that will allow users to place an order by talking to a virtual barista that will then send the order to a store nearby user where it will be made by an employee.  

While most retailers reduced traditional advertising spend in favor of digital sources this holiday season, Amazon made an unprecedented move to television.   This was according to the “MediaRadar Trend Report” that examined holiday advertising spend among Amazon, Walmart, Target, Macy’s, Sears, Kohl’s, Nordstrom, and J.C. Penney, between October and November 2016.    When comparing holiday ad spend by retailer, here is how the companies fared:  

When it comes to combining in-store visits and online product research or purchase, Generation Z (ages 18 to 26) leads all other shopper age groups in the U.S., lending some spark an otherwise flat “omnishopping” environment.  

At its recent I/O 2016 developer festival, Google signaled its intent to embrace artificial intelligence. With Google’s fall release of the Pixel phone and, more important, its Assistant, the transition to an AI-powered future is underway.  

J.C. Penney is testing a category more typically associated with Home Depot or Lowe’s than a department store: heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems.    According to a report by Dallas Morning News, the test is being done in partnership with Trane, an HVAC company, and includes a display of the HVAC service near the major appliances at a few locations.