Digital Lifescapes

The application of new technology is an opportunity for traditional retailers to enhance customer engagement via digital transformation. Many of these established retailers are confronted by disruptive competition from eCommerce. Savvy retailers are evolving their business model into an omnichannel offering, where they combine the best of their offline experience and supplement it with an online shopping experience. Therefore, retailers that intend to maintain a physical in-store presence must operate more effectively. There are several technologies being combined to enhance the way retail store operations function -- including self-checkout apps, beacons, RFID tags, robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI). That said, the current global economic environment requires retailers to become more agile and decisive. Retailer Technology Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the value of transactions processed by smart checkout technologies, ...

Global positioning system (GPS) wireless technology has transformed terrestrial travel and navigation, but there are numerous other uses. Now these nascent technology applications and new use cases are emerging both inside and outside the home. GPS personal tracking device shipments will more than double by 2021 with a 21 percent CAGR, as the industry shifts away from traditional markets, such as family and pet locator devices. ABI Research predicts that non-traditional markets -- including elderly or health, corporate, and personal asset tracking -- will embrace ubiquitous indoor and outdoor location technology. Indoor Location Market Development "Traditional markets still attract attention, given the huge total available market, but they remain too fragmented, with no obvious sales and distribution channels," said Patrick Connolly, principal analyst at ABI Research . As a result, a number of established companies in this space are being forced to consider new area...

Retailers across the globe were one of the first sectors to adopt big data applications, as a way to gain new in-store shopper traffic insights. Wireless technology is key component of the solution. ABI Research reported greater growth in Wi-Fi location analytics within the retail market during 2015. ABI analyst calculations show that total Wi-Fi location technology installations in retail were up almost 400 percent year-over-year. And, the growth trend is forecast to continue in 2016. Driving the growth is a combination of start-ups and legacy access point vendors, such as Cisco Systems, Ruckus Wireless, and Zebra Technologies, that are adopting new pricing models, technologies, and a large number of platform partners to help them win new business. Market Development of New Wi-Fi Apps "Previous iterations of Wi-Fi location platforms were expensive and not ideal for customer engagement," said Patrick Connolly, principal analyst at ABI Research . According to the ABI...

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Beacons have emerged as a major new wireless technology with a multi-billion dollar market development opportunity -- and it's a key part the emerging Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem. BLE Beacons provide a long list of next-generation uses cases in growing markets -- including indoor location proximity, in-store retail, smart home, smart city, industrial, mobile payments, wearables, mobile advertising, and ambient intelligence. BLE beacons are now ready for mainstream adoption in 2016, following a strong 2015 third quarter in shipments and new contract signings, according to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research. Moreover, the current use cases also create significant new demand for big data storage and software analytics applications. "We populated our contract tracker with a handful of company names in the last quarter, including IKEA, H&M, Macy’s, Target, Pizza Hut, Elle, Espirit, McDonalds and Carrefour," said Patri...

Savvy retailers will create a connected in-store shopping experience. They'll also extend their online engagement with consumers -- moving beyond creating awareness and facilitating payments, to a deeper integration of their customer loyalty programs. The pursuit of this agenda has seen digital coupons evolve from merely being a means of driving consumers to storefronts, to becoming a core element of promoting and reinforcing retail brand loyalty. According to the latest market study by Juniper Research, nearly 1.6 billion coupons will be delivered annually to shoppers via in-store beacon technology by 2020 -- that's up from just 11 million this year. In 2016, more retailers will develop proximity marketing programs for deployment in and around their stores. The Juniper study found that several leading U.S. retailers have already deployed beacon networks, with Macy’s having installed more than 4,000 within its retail stores. The research findings demonstrate that in-sto...