Retail Technology at NRF

A look of how retailers are using new technology from  the recent NRF conference.  Human labor and its management still a very important topic.

NRF 2020 Review: Human vs. Machine
by Ron Margulis in Retailwire  with further expert comments

Two of the biggest takeaways from the National Retail Federation Big Show in New York this week were at either end of the human-robot spectrum. Sure, there was plenty of talk about how retailers are taking advantage of AI and machine learning, how they are creating new ways to engage shoppers at the checkout and what they’re doing to bolster their sustainability efforts, but the real innovation is going on with the consumer-facing activities of both humans and machines.

For human labor, there was plenty of information about workforce management, task management and gamification. And there was a slew of new user interfaces to help push decision-making down to the front-line employee’s smartphone. All of these solutions are designed to help retail workers better meet the exact desires of shoppers in real time so the physical store can compete more effectively with digital-only merchants. A variety of vendor solutions have amped up the possibilities for management to communicate with store employees by moving from straightforward list-based instructions to more elaborate and interactive programs.   .... "