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“AR, when linked to integrated big data, allows
the retailer to see much more clearly what their

customers want and how each of them interacts
with the brand in a different way.”

autonomous functionality. The Autonomous Personal Robot adds
virtual human interaction to the mix. The Personal Robot offers
videoconferencing connections with remote store associates
who specialize in specific products.
Duy Huynh, a co-founder of Autonomous, describes the
Autonomous Personal Robot as a teleportation device. “It’ll help
people to work from anywhere,” Huynh says. The Personal Robot
provides additional sales resources when stores are busy and
enables associates to cater to customers from different cities via
teleconference. Associates control the robot remotely through
hot buttons on a desktop app.
“After a few hours, when it’s slow, you can ship [the associates] French jewelry retailer Cleor uses RFID technology to help it track inventory.
back to where they were,” he says. Popular retailers like Sephora Photo: Cleor
and Tokyo’s Mitsukoshi department store have also been using 4. RFID AND IOT CONNECTIVITY
robotics in their stores. Brick-and-mortar stores around the world are piggybacking on
the Internet of Things (IoT) trend, which allows devices around
a store to communicate with each other. For example, retailers
are using radio-frequency identification (RFID) to identify, track
and manage inventory. Technology such as RAIN lets stores track
inventory results and boost item availability. Stores like Rebecca
Minkoff are already incorporating RFID into smart dressing rooms.
Zebra Technologies offers SmartSense sensor grip technology
to sense and record the location of merchandise, associates and
shoppers. By using in-store video, mobile device signals and
RFID-tagged merchandise, SmartSense helps retailers understand
where customers are moving in their stores.

AI and deep learning allow Sentient Aware soft-
ware to provide personalized recommendations
on handbags. Photo: Sentient Technologies

3. AI SOFTWARE
Retailers such as Sunglass Hut, Sketchers and Shoes.com are
using artificial intelligence and deep learning from a company
called Sentient Technologies to make decisions more quickly.
“Sentient Aware, a visual personalization product, uses deep
learning to understand product catalogs,” says Jonathan Epstein,
chief marketing officer for Sentient. “That might be shoes, Digital signs bring shoppers into the action through the use of AI and
dresses, pants, lamps, rugs or furniture.” The software records mobile apps. Photo: Ads Reality
what images a user clicks on so it can learn about the person’s 5. DIGITAL SIGNAGE
shopping preferences. Retailers are “using it to create new ways By collecting location-based data from customer
of merchandising their products for recommendations and for smartphones, stores can update digital signs with promotions
search enhancement,” Epstein says. and popular items. Companies such as Stratacache allow

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