This Live Blog was last updated January 15th at 2:30pm.

With NRF 2019 in full swing, our own Geoffrey Short is in New York City to bring you all the latest from the show. We will be updating this post throughout the day with all of his interviews, products demos, and insights from the show. You can also follow us on social media to get our live updates faster!

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Tuesday January 15th

NRF 2019 is in full swing and MarketScale’s Chief Digital Editor Geoff Short is in the middle of it. He joined the podcast to recap what he saw and experienced at the retail industry’s big show for 2019.

The MarketScale team received a hands-on explanation of frictionless payment and how the industry is tackling potential security concerns. “The industry is wide awake to [security] threats, it’s just a question of how to implement these kinds of things,” Short said.

MarketScale took a private media tour of the area on the first day of NRF 2019 to see what stood out amongst these rising brands.

Tompkins Robotics: Another impact of the e-commerce world is the need for extremely efficient and precise distribution centers. Tompkins Robotics is automating this process with its team of mobile item sorting devices for warehouses. According to the company, four of the United States’ 10 largest retailers have already partnered signed on to use the ‘automated robotic sortation’ devices.

Companies are showing off their best and brightest new products to help retailers attract shoppers to an in-store experience. While e-commerce continues to rise, in-store shopping isn’t fading. It’s being transformed with the help of technology.

 

Monday January 14th

This year’s conference will focus on the impact of the industry across many categories. Namely, business models and strategies that are perfecting, disrupting and innovating within the retail world. Attendees are hearing how retailers are refining the industry through social impact and challenging old standards

The retail industry has undergone a revolution as a result of eCommerce. This transformation has negatively impacted physical stores that have tried to compete with online retailers. However, according to Juniper Research, retail spending at friction-less payment stores will increase drastically by 2023.

 

Sunday January 13th

While the U.S. has shifted to a service-based economy, mobile devices haven’t effectively benefited the growing number of service jobs. There is arguably no sector of our economy undergoing more disruption caused by the mobile revolution than retail. This transformation in retail has created new marketplaces, payment methods and delivery options to service today’s “always connected” customers.

Face recognition technology has become accurate enough for practically everyone to have an interest in it. Any place with security concerns—including sporting facilities, malls, and public places where large numbers of people may assemble—or who want to reduce shoplifting, should have at the very least investigated facial recognition. Even those who are using standard digital cameras for security could easily upgrade to facial recognition by simply starting to use the software.

As two of the most attacked industries, retail and e-commerce need to work with a security provider who grasps where various threats are coming from, the tactics being used, and tactics in development that will likely arise down the road. AI is helping in various ways. While technology itself is neutral, AI tech can be adapted and used either for or against a company. Corporations must take advantage of tools offered by AI and understand how adversaries can use them against an entity.

 

 

 

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