Retail's BIG Show 2009
Empower consumers. Enable employees. Reduce costs. Work more efficiently by collaborating with suppliers and partners. IBM can help you implement innovative strategies to differentiate your brand.The National Retail Federation’s big show sets the pace for the coming year in the retail industry each January, and this year was no exception. Top of mind with retailers these days are issues like customer retention, exploring new channels, and staying competitive in a tough market. The following demonstrations at NRF, IBM proved to clients and potential clients that we can help.
The big picture
IBM takes a broad view of our retail clients’ business, from hardware needs to services and software requirements. Fred Balboni, GBS Global Retail Industry Leader, spoke to w3’s roving NRF reporter at the show about new solutions like IBM Retail Performance Analytics (RPA), a “quick start” portfolio designed to help retailers analyze and apply data to business processes to reduce costs and boost revenue.
Survey says ...
Fred also mentions the recently released IBM Institute for Business Value study, Shopper advocacy: Building consumer trust in the new economic environment, that helps clients implement strategies that build customer loyalty, capture the “shifters” and make the most of their investment in IBM products. Alain Benichou, Global Distribution Sector General manager, and Robert Garf, Global Retail Strategy Leader tell us about the survey and the study:
Try before you buy
Buying make –up has a whole new look, thanks to EZFace, a company partnered with IBM to deliver a new interactive technology that gives the experience a make-over. The interface snaps your picture, then lets you apply the products, shades and styles you choose. Touch “apply” and you immediately get to see your new look. Don’t like it? Change it with a touch of a button! Watch it work its beauty-magic.
Room with a view
Blending traditional shopping with web 2.0 technology isn’t easy, but Brent Cossey, Technical Sales Manager, sure makes it look that way. The Virtual Living Room at VT Living, a fictitious home furnishings retailer, brings in-store interaction together with shopping over the Internet and mobile devices for a seamless experience. Watch as Brent shops for a chair in a 3D re-creation of a real room:
IBM solutions and thought leadership are specifically designed to make retail instrumented, interconnected and intelligent, in effect smarter. The partnerships and innovation demonstrated at NRF are tangible evidence of this vision. For more information concerning this article, please contact us.