Future of Retail.... Maybe...

I attended the Big Show at the Javits Center in NYC last week, a four-day retail technology extravaganza! I always enjoy going to these shows because you get to see what the current buzz is; see things that are being delivered now. Its all about the "Customer Experience", no "Customer Journey", no it's "Big Data" - it is always something!

This show was amazing because all the big hitters were on the top floor with huge displays: IBM, Accenture, Oracle, Salesforce, PWC, and on and on. These guys all have huge retail practices and focuses. Then on the lower floor were well over 100 vendors of all shapes and sizes, with dozens of value propositions for the retail industry.

What I always find interesting is what vendors are showing for the "Future". With a crystal ball, what will the shopping experience be like in 5 years? A couple of vendors with this vision who caught my eye:

A Japanese company called Softbank, who has developed a robot named "Pepper." Pepper will enhance the shopper experience in stores and hotel lobbies all over the world! Pepper stands about 4 foot 2, eyes of (Blue - Green - Red) and a very nice video display on her/his (so hard to tell, and you don't want to guess!) chest. Peppers arms, legs, and head move and is eager to help you in your shopping experience. Pepper also understands what you are saying very well even with a lot of background noise - "Nice job Nuance". Pepper can check inventory, compare products, make suggestions, etc. The idea is Pepper can engage and help you, and if you need one of those pesky humans, Pepper can summon one for you! Imagine walking into your favorite Marriott hotel, ready to check in. "Hello Mr. McBrien fine sir, you have been upgraded to the Presidential Suite, room 1200, there is a cold six-pack in your fridge. Is there anything I can help you with?". Why thank you, Pepper! Meet Pepper

As I watched the presenters, there was a lot of buzz around the new Amazon Go concept. Walk into a store, pick up your favorite items, then walk out! Don't stop to pay, it is taken care of, or as the say in Jersey "Forget about it!" You could tell by the tone of the discussion about it that it is considered very disruptive - it was previously being dismissed as too soon, too hard, won't happen for a while. Well, not so fast.

As I was walking the upper floor (FitBit tells me 17,000 steps a day) I found a very interesting vendor. The company is called FutureProof Retail, and founders Will Hogben and Di Di Chan have a vision of a frictionless grocery store experience coming to a store near you. You simply walk into the store, open your FutureProof Retail application on your phone and start shopping. Scan the item you want to buy, and produce as well. When you are ready to check out, simply go to a special area in the front of the store and scan a code on your phone into a reader. If it is all good, you get a green light, or a red light if a teller has to do a quick check. They currently have stores in California deployed, and it is working well. I can tell you, the team at FutureRetail were in full demo mode, they were always busy showing off the new application. FutureProofRetail

So, In 5 years you may walk into your favorite store and be greeted by Pepper, open an application on your phone, select your items and walk out. Of course, you will need to say goodbye to Pepper.