Category Archives: Scoop.it

News from the retail automation sector

The automated retail industry is one of the two core technology showplaces today (financial Services being #2).

    • Emerging technologies such as robotics, lockers, digital signage, vending and automated vending lead the way.   Amazon and Google revolutionize physical delivery. OuterWall has another great idea (or not).
    • More mature retail technology includes interactive displays, next-generation POS,  mobile interplay, multi-touch, kiosks for self-service, video services, and customer service technology.
    • Companion technologies include ATMs, kiosks, Advanced ATMS,  NFC and thin client.
    • Standards – here we have more regulatory guidelines in play along with more standards than any other industry. PCI, OPOS, JPOS, MPOS,  HIPAA, ADA, UL, CE just to name a few.

Retail InCanadian Tire’s innovative digital move raises salesRetail Industry – Canadian Tire’s innovative digital move raises sales 

Interactive capabilities contained in the catalogue are nothing short of state-of-the-art, CEO says

Source: www.theglobeandmail.com

He said Canadian Tire stores in the Ottawa area are testing a number of online concepts and “most things we test work. … If you fear failure, then you don’t test anything.” Still, when it tried to put lockers in stores for e-commerce order pickups, “our customers didn’t like it” and the retailer abandoned the idea. Many Canadian Tire products, such as barbecues, don’t fit in a locker, he said.

Kohl’s profit sinks 87% on unexpected sales decline

Meanwhile Macy’s got whacked as comparable sales declined 6.1 percent in 1Q

Source: www.retaildive.com

In a statement Thursday, Kohl’s CEO Kevin Mansell acknowledged the challenges but said the retailer had to sacrifice profits in order to move excess inventory, and that it’s cost-cutting measures are paying off. 

 

“First quarter sales were challenging,” Mansell said. “Despite the sales environment, we were able to manage our gross margin and inventory levels consistent with our expectations as we took the markdowns necessary to clear excess inventory. We managed our expenses effectively throughout the quarter as every area contributed to our savings versus our plan.”

 

MACYS

 

Graja expects the “My Macy’s” initiative to have continued success. The initiative, which involves tailoring service, marketing, and merchandise to fit the needs and preferences of local markets, has mostly exceeded expectations, and “we expect further benefits going forward.”

 

Macy’s is also investing into improving its multichannel selling capabilities. “We believe this will be an important source of future growth, and note that it also helps the company to manage inventory more efficiently,” the analyst wrote. He added that the company is likely to develop new merchandise and store formats to drive additional growth.

Issues That Need Addressing

Although management is making good strategic decisions, the issues facing Macy’s include soft brick-and-mortar mall traffic, the strong US dollar and a weaker Chinese economy, which is exerting pressure on spending by tourists.

 

http://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/16/05/7972041/my-macys-is-working-but-the-retailer-needs-to-do-more

Swyft, Inc. Raises $3.5M Series A Financing

From Yahoo Finance: SAN FRANCISCO, May 9, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Swyft Inc., a leader in automated retail and vending technology, announced a January 4th, 2016 close of US$3.5 Million in Series A equity financing. “Th

Source: finance.yahoo.com

Excerpt –  

Swyft was co-founded by Gower Smith, creator of the automated retail industry. “We are at the inflection point where automated retail is proven, however has not yet scaled. Just like when banks introduced ATMs, location numbers increased 10 times once independent manufacturers deployed low-cost machines. At ZoomSystems I quickly grew annual sales from zero to $100 million, but after handing off management, the company didn’t continue to lower capital cost to improve ROI. Our data showed that this was the key for scale to tens of thousands of locations and billions in revenue, which is our focus at Swyft.”

Automated retail provides more compelling unit economics than the $20+ billion US vending industry because it usually offers high-value merchandise, not just soda and snacks. Automated retail delivers the highest sales per square foot at typically 5-20 times the revenue of a vending machine, with many individual stores exceeding $1M annual revenue. It is more efficient than traditional retail because it eliminates staffing and real estate risk. Before Swyft, the technology lacked flexibility and operating costs were too high to scale.

The $3.5M funding has already enabled Swyft to release its low-cost hardware, flexible cloud-based software and a more efficient operating cost structure. This disruptive solution means lower capital costs, shorter ROI and the ability to scale to tens of thousands of locations. Swyft anticipates tremendous growth, with a projected market of over $1.5 Billion in the US and $5 Billion globally.

1800Flowers unwraps IBM Watson-powered mobile gift concierge, signaling AI’s rise – Mobile Commerce Daily – Multichannel retail support

Gifts retailer 1800Flowers, which has recently made waves in artificial intelligence integration, is cementing its stronghold on mobile commerce with an IBM Watson-powered gift concierge that uses cognitive capabilities to tailor product suggestions for shoppers.

Source: www.mobilecommercedaily.com

1800Flowers has always been innovative. 1800Flowers is the first ecommerce brand in the gifting sector to use IBM Watson’s personal shopper platform