ShopTalk 2017: IoT And AI Dominate

By Erin Harris, Editor-In-Chief, Cell & Gene
Follow Me On Twitter @ErinHarris_1

It shouldn’t surprise you to hear that ShopTalk 2017 was a hit. I walked away from the show more informed on the future of retail than I was when I walked in. I suspect there are quite a few meetings and conversations taking place as retail execs share what they learned with their teams. In a nutshell, the content was top notch. Here are some of the sessions I attended and what I learned:

Skip The App

Julie Ask, VP, Principal Analyst at Forrester led a data-driven discussion about mobile commerce trends. Jose Nino, VP of E-Commerce, Digital at Perry Ellis, Rob Schmults, SVP E-Commerce & CRM at Talbots, and Doug Straton, VP Digital, E-Commerce, and Data at Unilever North America answered Ask’s questions about whether mobile has been an effective sales channel given that Forrester states consumers have spent $60 billion from mobile phones in 2016 alone. She asked the panelists if retailers need an app considering that, according to Forrester, users have 200 mobile moments per day, and retailers take up just 5% of those moments.

The resounding response was no. Nino advised that unless you’re a big box brand or a big CPG company that can afford the capital expenditure, skip the app and invest in improving your own mobile site. Optimize for mobile and focus on responsive web design.

Be A Provider Of Value

Rachel Mushahwar, GM Retail and Hospitality & CPG at Intel and Mike Zorn, SVP Associate Labor Relations at Macy’s were two of the presenters in the Future of the Mall and Disrupting Today’s Mall Operator Model track session. Mushahwar asked the audience how they intend to leverage the fourth channel (i.e. mobile) to engage with Centennials (people under 18). Further, inventory remains a $1.1 trillion problem in retailing. IoT data can be used to solve inventory problems and engage customers. Video and visual search are as effective as text search, and machine learning and personalization are now table stakes. Are you a retailer, or a provider of value? Retailers must be the latter.

Zorn talked about associates and how engaging them has changed. He explained that today’s retail associates want the same level of flexibility and autonomy that the customer has. He also stated that retailing doesn’t have a manager issue, it has a leadership issue. With the right training and the right hires, engaged associates have a 4 point better trend than stores with lower engagement.

Retail’s Future Is IoT

Uri Minkoff, Co-Founder and CEO of Rebecca Minkoff delivered a dynamic and informative keynote. The key take-aways from his speech include the undisputed need for a nimble supply chain. He explains that Rebecca Minkoff has taken two years to do just that.

He also stated that knowing the customer is key — where do they shop, where do they eat,  what music do they listen to, etc.? Find that out information and then A/B test your strategies all day long. Minkoff gave a brief demo of what modern retail analytics looks like using 42 Technologies’ data warehouse and performance platform, which was integrated with Alexa. Minkoff asked Alexa what was the most purchased item in Spring 2017 collection. In about one second, Alexa provided the correct response via 42 Technologies’ instant access to the retailer’s data. It was impressive. Case in point — he urged the audience to look to the future, as it’s paved with IoT.

You Can’t Spell Retail Without AI

Another track session titled AI in Retail featured four brief presentations from IBM, Twiggle, Sentient Technologies, and Clarifai. Each company tackles AI, and the big take away is that AI continues to change the game in retail. All four companies are doing ground-breaking things with AI to make the customer experience as seamless as possible. For example, Clarifai’s image and video recognition API helps customers find relevant products easily.

Meant to be tongue-in-cheek, moderator Jason Goldberg said, you can’t spell Retail without “AI.” It’s funny because it’s true.

Stop Thinking About Sales

Gene Han, VP of Consumer IoT and Head of Target’s San Francisco Innovation Office, gave a great presentation on Target Open House, a place to experiment with and purchase products, learn about possibilities, and connect with creators. Think Innovation Lab on steroids. In the evening, Open House turns into an event space, hosting discussions, presentations, and collaborations. Since start-ups are known for their humble beginnings, Open House features the Garage Products, which features startup products, 16 to be exact, that rotate monthly. Like many speakers throughout ShopTalk, Han stressed IoT’s importance in retail. He also gave retailers a tough task — to stop thinking about sales and to instead think about other ways to determine value. Han knows that’s a difficult ask, but the consideration is worth every brain cell.

In conclusion, this is just a snippet of the valuable content featured at ShopTalk. Did you attend the show? What did you find most valuable? What topics did you bring back to your teams? Email me directly at erin.harris@jamesonpublishing.com with your input.