News English — retail technology
Retailers IT estate the next battle ground for suppliers & partners?
ecommerce Logistics new product retail retail technology Stores
On our recent visit to NRF2018 we saw the new piece of EPOS hardware Square payments had just recently released and at TDC18 we noticed Hermes new hardware for its partner stores. In addition to this we also read about Just-Eat's development of a hardware platform for its partner restaurants. All this is pointing to increased competition for retailer's and hospitality businesses IT estate - but what does it really mean? Will EPOS and ERP-light suppliers experience a declining market? To what extent is hardware and EPOS used as a way to 'tie in' customers and partners? Our take on...
Zara Concept Store in Westfield Stratford, London
Concept Store G-Star retail technology Westfield Zara
Yet another concept store open and we are still as keen as ever to check out the new awesome technology this global company must have installed and utilised to its maximum potential. We are quickly disappointed by the mirrors on display and the large number of Zara staff on display. Our immediate thought "did we waste our time coming here?". Technology - what technology? The Zara concept store use a bit of technology, but nothing revolutionary, or even inspirational. It appears to be more of a testing ground to determine how consumers will interact with a guide shop, order...
Day 3 @ NRF Big Show, New York
Communication Innovation North America NRF retail technology Robotics
Final day at the NRF 2018 show. (images to come - upload speed is particularly bad at JFK airport) Disappointed by the number of businesses that cannot explain what they do in a few sentences. Ok, some businesses are a bit more complex than say "we help retailers to become omni channel retailers"... However, for the companies who think this is a good explanation of what you do, perhaps you ought to think through your trade show strategy a bit more and losen up on the sales schpiel and get down to the nitty gritty. Sometimes the simplest explanation...
Day 1 @ NRF Javits New York
Innovation North America NRF retail technology Trade Show
It was our first visit and a bit overwhelming initially. But as we found our footing it was quite a well arranged and impressive show, two more days to go though. However, the queue to Starbucks might well be the longest we have ever seen... Some noteworthy exhibitors: 42Technologies - These guys seems like a business with traction. Their UK clients include AllSaints and they are close to signing up a major sports chain in the UK (which will be a big scalp indeed!). 42 is a business intelligence suite and must have something going for them, be it...
China Watch: Self-Serve Convenience Stores
Alibaba China computer vision Convenience Store ecommerce FMCG Interior JD.com Machine Learning new product Omnichannel On to Offline Payment Tech Pop-Up Shops retail technology Self-Serve Startup Store of the Future Stores
