Everyone’s favorite madhouse trade show overtook Las Vegas this week – CES 2018. In case you live under a rock, CES, AKA the Consumer Electronics Show, is the world’s largest gathering place for all those who thrive on the business of consumer technologies and it takes place in Las Vegas every January. This year’s show boasted over 184,000 attendees, over 4,000 exhibitors, and 1,200 speakers, all ready to discuss the latest and greatest in consumer technology.
To no one’s surprise, the (not so distant) future of retail technology has been one of the hottest topics at CES 2018 this past week. Complete with a whole track entitled “High Tech Retailing Summit,” attendees were able to listen to retail experts discuss topics like data science, AI, experiential shopping, and “smart” merchandise. And with big-name speakers from companies like Walmart, L’Oreal, PSFK, Target, and Amazon, there’s a lot to be taken away.
The Retail Technology Insider team has compiled some of our favorite Tweet takeaways from the show that touch on some of the most pressing topics in retail today:
5 key pillars of blended #retail by @piers_fawkes @PSFK at CES @HighTechRetail Summit #Ces2018 pic.twitter.com/FXWFs2JCTq
— Jocelyn Dorion (@dorionj) January 11, 2018
The concept of “blended retail” is an important one, as retailers are learning to utilize tactics from both the brick-and-mortar world and the online world to create the most cohesive and seamless experience for their customers.
Live from the #CES2018 High Tech Beauty Summit discussing how AR is playing a role in “rewiring “ the new beauty retail paradigm & customer experience ?? pic.twitter.com/qBSxBcd0g9
— Esohe Omoruyi (@esoheyhey) January 12, 2018
Augmented reality continues to make some big waves in the retail world, as customers are looking for more memorable and personalized shopping experience.
EVRYTHNG CEO, @nialltweet at #CES2018 speaking about retail in the world of smart products & showcasing the @RebeccaMinkoff #AlwaysOn bag.#IoT #hightechretail #smartproducts #borndigital #CES @HighTechRetail pic.twitter.com/1uv2vByuti
— EVRYTHNG (@EVRYTHNG) January 12, 2018
Smart products are yet another tool that will enhance the shopping experience by allowing retailers to interact with customers in effective, non-creepy ways while still leveraging customer data productively.
@PindarWong what happens when there are more machines than humans? We not shoplifters we are lift-shoppers #ces2018 @HighTechRetail pic.twitter.com/FVf01MPtBX
— robin raskin (@robinr) January 12, 2018
#CES2018 pic.twitter.com/SxZj2RO2rs #retailtech #RetailTuesday #CESUnveiled Next in #retail? Walmart hires 50 #robots to scan shelves. #ai #robotics #bots #autonomous #automation #robotics credit @MikeQuindazzi
— C-Store News (@CStoreNews_) January 9, 2018
Winners at #CES2018 ? @aipoly aims to change the way we shop, offering #artificialintelligence + a #mobileapp to replace the store checkout, and re-stocking. #ai #machinelearning #deeplearning #fintech #retail via @MikeQuindazzi cc @evankirstel @JimMarous @jblefevre60 @Fisher85M pic.twitter.com/fyjsXWT7A4
— Christine Boursin (@chboursin) January 11, 2018
But one of the most talked about areas of retail at CES 2018 was the advent of “human-less retail,” where AI bears the brunt of mundane retail tasks like inventory or checkout. This has been discussed at length among retail experts and it’s something that retailers are going to have to wrap their heads around to keep pace with industry innovators.
Check back with us next week when we tackle innovations at NRF’s Big Retail Show and chat with industry experts like our good friend Mike Mack about what the future holds for retail technology.
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