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Earlier this month the National Retail Federation (NRF) held its annual Big Show in New York City. What used to be an old-guard show featuring some innovations in point-of-sale (POS) systems and displays has turned into a pageant of IoT, robotics, biometrics, payments, cloud and AI/ML riches, among other things. The technology world’s most prominent players— including Google Cloud, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Nvidia and more—were there to show off new innovations for retail. There were plenty of startups and lesser-known brands on display, showcasing technologies that are poised to take retail to the next level, deliver more customized omnichannel shopping experiences, reduce payment friction and increase efficiencies throughout the buying lifecycle for brands and consumers.
As consumers return to in-store shopping in the wake of the Covid pandemic, retailers are focused on three crucial aspects of the shopping experience: inventory management, store (or site) productivity and seamless checkout. While consumers are used to the Amazon Prime-led convenience of the e-commerce experience, and companies continue to focus on e-commerce innovation, retailers want to draw shoppers back into physical stores because they make more money on average per trip than they do with online shoppers.
Here we’ll look at some of the companies and products showcased at NRF 2023 that maximize the three pillars of an excellent shopping experience.
Inventory Management
Supply chain issues have hit the retail industry particularly hard. To stay competitive in this sector, businesses must have an up-to-date, comprehensive understanding of their inventory. When supply chain issues do arise, it is even more important to track inventory accurately, anticipate customer needs, and ensure that goods are in the right location at the right time.
During NRF, Microsoft unveiled two new Microsoft Cloud for Retail products—Store Operations Assist and AiFi Smart Stores Analytics.
Microsoft Store Operations Assist is a cloud-based software solution designed to help retailers streamline store operations and drive sales. It provides a unified view of store data, enabling retailers to manage inventory, pricing, promotions, customer relationships and more. The platform also offers advanced analytics to gain insights into customer behavior, sales trends and other vital metrics. By configuring Store Operations Assist in Microsoft Teams, leaders and managers can enhance collaboration, boost productivity and support store associates throughout the sales cycle and in every aspect of their performance.
Smart Store Analytics is a cloud service included in the Microsoft Cloud for Retail product suite, developed in collaboration with AiFi, an autonomous shopping technology startup. Smart Store Analytics gives retailers using AiFi’s technology the ability to gain insights into shopper behavior and operations within their smart stores. I wrote about AiFi in a previous article, and offered my insights on the industry in a TechCrunch article covering the announcement of AiFi’s Series B. Over the past year, I’ve watched the company rapidly expand its partnerships and frictionless shopping footprint, and I think this partnership with Microsoft paces them even further ahead of the competition.
Aldi Shop & Go powered by AiFi, located outside of London.
AiFi
Frictionless shopping or “autonomous shopping” and self-checkout have gained traction in the past year, particularly in Europe. However, retail theft is also at an all-time high, and increasing food prices have exacerbated shrinkage. A handful of major tech players have introduced AI-powered solutions to help retailers combat theft or mistakes at checkout that lead to …….