NRF2019: New Trends in 2019 Retail Innovation

From how to attract customers to how to improve customer turnover and how to cultivate loyal customers, those are questions that have been constantly being thought of as a retailer. With the emergence of new trends such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and mobile technology, It gets complex for retailers and consumers to build and maintain relationships. Data is collected but most of the merchant doesn’t use this data to bring better customer experience. Faced with the changeable of millennials, how to stand out the brand and seize the opportunity? At the NRF show in New York, USA, all of this has been answered by industry professionals.

The American Retail Big Show - NRF was packaged on January 15, 2019, at the Javits Exhibition Center in New York City. At the exhibition, experts from the retail industry concluded the retail experience and prospect of future retail. Telpo, a smart terminal manufacturer, was also involved. 

What new ideas are there, let’s take a view.

1. Associate Mobile Technology

Associating mobile devices is capable of not only delivering personalized marketing but also be used to locate inventory, process POS transactions and other ancillary sales. Associate mobile devices are seen as the core strategy for many retailers to elevate the in-store experience. According to the reports of IHL Group, it is found that retailers can provide mobile sales and payment tools for staff with a 77% higher sales growth than those who don't.

2. Digitized Storytelling

Digitized Storytelling is what translates a boring collection of data outputs into a meaningful narrative what that data is telling you. Retailers are looking for technologies to showcase customer-specific personalized data in a way that resonates.

Macy's Style Crew, for example, leverages creativity and social media to engage brand ambassadors and in-store employees to interact with consumers in stores and through social networks, expressing ideas and inviting consumers to do the same. The store's employees can be connected to the customer online. Jamie Nordstrom addressed a speech on the theme "The company's relentless focus on customers."

3. Customer Experience Strategy

Data analysis is widely recognized, and customer experience(CX) is the key to standing out in the highly competitive retail landscape. Developing a correct customer experience strategy begins with defining a unique retail experience. For example, Uniqlo is a natural and comfortable customer experience positioning. And then delivering it through the combination of the service staff, data, and technology. Improving the customer experience also runs through one of NRF2019's key themes, exploring the “experience economy” from all angles. At the show, there are also software and smart devices that using data analysis makes it a reality.

4. Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) can penetrate almost every facet of a retail business. On the store floor, retailers are interested in using AI to quickly synthesize data to achieve a personalized customer experience (CX). According to BRP, this technology will soon be applied: Adoption of artificial intelligence for customer experience (CX ) will rise from 7% to 55% in three years. Artificial intelligence was spread across NRF booths and operations sessions track. 

5.  Real-Time Data Analysis Using Edge and Fog Computing

The demand for real-time data analysis will grow rapidly. A personalized customer experience requires an instant analysis of the data and produces actionable results. Retailers expect to put that data and computation to be as close to the point of action as possible. Edge and fog computing is becoming solutions that enable analysis and performed in stores results that needed, such as processing IoT sensor data. Gartner predicts that by 2022, 75% of enterprise-generated data will be created and processed outside of traditional centralized data centers or clouds.

6. New Advancements in Augmented Reality

Augmented Reality (AR) helps retailers drive more personalized, smarter shopping experience shoppers by enabling customers to see products in context - such as whether cash register color matching is appropriate for their store renovation, or how custom products would like, without even having to produce it. But AR futurists think this is just the beginning: eventually, AR and VR will make the store itself virtual, or allow shoppers to move around real stores. The latest AR advances were on display at NRF's Innovation Lab.

The NRF Big Show is a platform for retailers to discover ideas and technologies that help them develop better strategies and deliver a more personalized brand experience. As a retail smart device provider, Telpo offers smart terminals ranging from retail to biometrics, providing services for smart retail system developers and retailers under new retail.

Thanks for your supporting, see you next time!