Virtual Reality, Data Analytics and Big Crowds Reign at NRF

NEW YORK—Despite the turbulent global economy, the 101st National Retail Federation Annual Convention and Expo—also known as “Retail’s Big Show”—saw an increase in visitors this year, drawing a crowd of 24,000 attendees, in comparison with 22,500 last year.

“This year, in particular, international attendance has grown tremendously, proving just how important retail really is to the world’s economy,” said Kathy Grannis, a spokesperson for the NRF, which is the world’s largest retail trade association.

The four-day convention, held in New York Jan. 15–18 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, showcased the latest retail technologies, trends and products.

The conference provided more than 150 information sessions and panels on everything from neuromarketing and buyer behavior to tailoring a shopper’s experience to his or her mobile phone, tablet or computer.

Speakers ranged from David Lauren, Ralph Lauren’s executive vice president of advertising, marketing, and corporate communications, to Terry Lundgren, president and chief executive officer of Macy’s, who interviewed former President Bill Clinton about his views on the economy and global partnership.

The convention also featured a 150,000-square-foot Expo Hall, featuring more than 450 exhibitors, including Google, IBM, Style Shoots, TradeStone and Quantum Retail.

Virtual technology

One of the most popular technologies at the show was a 3-D virtual dressing room, with two competing versions presented by Calabasas, Calif.–based FaceCake Marketing Technologies and San Jose, Calif.–based Cisco.

The gesture-based, touch-less computer technology is similar to that seen in “Minority Report” and “Avatar,” but instead of pulling up digital maps or rifling through photos, customers can stand in front of a body-length screen with a webcam and dress the projected image of themselves with digital clothes provided by the retailer by using gestures to virtually grab products from each side of the screen.

The idea behind the technology is that it provides shoppers with exposure to a wide range of apparel and accessories—but without the hassle of having to try them on.

FaceCake’s product is called Swivel, and in addition to helping consumers select outfits, Swivel allows shoppers to upload their own photo background from their mobile phone while trying on clothes. They could use an image of a tropical beach when choosing outfits for a vacation or even a picture of their church when trying on wedding dresses, said Linda Smith, founder and CEO of FaceCake. The program also provides stock images, such as a red carpet for trying on evening gowns.

Other features include social-shopping components, such as using the webcam to snap a photo of an outfit and immediately sharing it with friends online or by mobile phone, or saving the pictures in a virtual closet, called a Swivlet, that the customer can access at any time.

“The response has been tremendous. People have been saying, ‘This is what I’ve been waiting for,’” Smith said.

The upside for retailers is that the virtual dressing room can be used as a promotional vehicle by suggesting outfits or added accessories for the user, as well as offering a ‘What’s Hot Now’ section with popular styles.

Swivel uses a Microsoft Kinect camera that is compatible with a Windows program and is currently only available for retailers, although the company plans to offer the product in homes by late summer or early fall.

FaceCake soft-launched the system in a mall tour last fall, with companies such as Nordstrom and Charming Charlie trying out the new technology. It is expected to be rolled out in various West Coast stores in April, but Smith couldn’t say which companies.

Cisco’s system is named Style Me and operates in much the same way as Swivel, featuring multiple clothing combinations and mobile sharing features, but the biggest difference is that Style Me can operate on a Windows or Cisco platform. It also features an “Immersive Experience Platform,” created by English tech company C-Instore, to organize the digital media and a camera made by Prime Sense, both of which provide superior motion control over Swivel, C-Instore CEO Duncan Clapman said.

Currently, three U.K. retailers want to use the Style Me pilot program, and 35 more companies around the world are interested in exploring it, Clapman said.

At the moment, the system is only available in stores, but the company hopes to expand into homes soon. According to Clapman,  within the next two years, 3-D virtual cameras are expected to be in the homes of 14 million people.  

Although both Clapman and Smith said they had been overwhelmed by positive response at the show, John Clark, a marketing manager for IBM, had watched the demonstrations for Swivel and Style Me and said he felt a bit underwhelmed by the technology and its “clunkiness.”

“I’m thinking of my wife and I can’t really see the applicability in the store,” he said. “I think she would still want to try things on.”

Social media and data analytics


Clark said that, overall, he was “very impressed” with this year’s convention and that he had seen a lot of senior executives looking for retail game changers.

“They’re looking and thinking about what could they adopt to fundamentally change and take advantage of new consumer buying habits,” he said.

One such game changer is social media and semantic analytics. Companies such as IBM are mining unstructured data, including Facebook “likes” and comments on Twitter, to help retailers understand which products are well-received by shoppers, Clark explained.

If negative comments about a newly released product are found in social media by mining data for specific key words, the product can be pulled from stores almost immediately, Clark said, saving a company from having to wait for retailer feedback.

Payment solutions

Google was another popular destination at the expo. The tech giant was there to promote Google Shopper and Google Wallet, the company’s more recent creation. The free Google Shopper app, released last year, allows users to scan a barcode to learn more about a product, capture and compare prices from surrounding stores, and subscribe to discounts via Google Offers.

Google Wallet is a separate mobile app designed to allow shoppers to make payments by simply scanning their phone against a Near Field Communications (NFC)-enabled reader. The free app securely stores the users’ credit card information in their phones, allowing them to pay online or in person at enrolled stores and automatically receive store rewards and discounts. Participating stores include Macy’s, Gap, Banana Republic and Guess, among others.

Canadian company AJB Software Design, which provides retailers with integrated payment solutions, was also at the show promoting its new collaboration and integration with PayPal.

The new point-of-sale interface will make it easier for retailers to offer PayPal as an in-store payment option, and members will be able to pay with either a PayPal payment card or by entering their mobile phone number and PIN.

Pat Polillo, the company’s vice president of sales, said that he had been coming to the show for more than five years and that this was the most traffic he’d ever seen.

An increased focus on security and changes in payment processing, along with the added bonus of certain sectors, such as luxury goods, doing well had both helped business, he said.

He’d had “constant traffic” and garnered 10 to 15 strong leads, which was “highly unusual” for this show, he said.

E-commerce and supply-chain technology


Jay Gardner, an executive consultant for Tolland, Conn.–based Gerber Technology, was also having a productive show and said he had seen roughly 30 clients over two days.

“It’s a better response than I would have thought because, generally, the people coming to this show are point-of-sale purchase vendors, not PLM [product lifecycle management],” he said.

Gardner was representing the latest version of Yunique PLM, which Gerber acquired two years ago.

The system is known for its user friendliness and fast installation, Gardner said.

“That’s our claim to fame. We can have it up and installed in four to five months from the time they sign the contract,” he said.

Jerry Inman, chief marketing officer for New York–based 7th Online, a cross-channel merchandise and assortment management company, said he was having an “amazing” show.

“There’s no question that e-commerce merchandising is a hot topic right now,” he said.

The company, which recently opened a new office in Hong Kong to focus on the growing Chinese retail industry, held an information session titled “eCommerce Merchandising: The New Paradigm for Multi-Channel Planning” with a new client, Lake Forest, Calif.–based sports company Oakley, and 60 people had come up to him afterwards asking for the presentation, Inman said.

He stressed the importance of having the right platform across all channels— including Web, wholesaler and retailer—as well as the necessity of companies not having their Web and retail groups siloed.

“I hate to say it, but we still find that most retailers are using Excel, and it’s not any way to run a business,” he explained.

In addition to embracing the omni-channel supply chain and increased monitoring of data analytics, other themes from the show included increases in cloud computing and maximum engagement with customers through tablets and smartphones.