We are just weeks away from NRF 2022: Retail’s Big Show, which begins January 16. At the Big Show’s Innovation Lab, more than 55 companies with the latest in sustainability, ecommerce, supply chain logistics, in-store technology, AI, AR/VR, and robotics will be on display. This year, attendees will find drones and robots that deliver consumer goods, a virtual try-on mirror, livestream shopping solutions, 3D virtual stores, robotic fulfillment systems, autonomous delivery vehicles and the world’s fastest self-checkout system, among many others.
Looking back at the past two years, the rapid rise in consumer adoption of technology has fundamentally altered shopping behavior. Consumers are now more likely to begin their shopping journey on social media shoppers than at a bricks-and-mortar location. As retailers have recognized this shift, new business models to accommodate digital channels have boomed over the past few years. Here are 13 companies that are leading that charge — bringing visionary and digital-first retail solutions to life.
Learn more about the latest retail industry technology and innovations.
Buy online, pick up in store
Retail Robotics creates last-mile delivery infrastructure using robotics. Working across ecommerce, e-grocery and high street retail, powerful robotic click-and-collect machines alongside parcel lockers automate pickups. Retail Robotics not only reduces costs but decreases delivery time and maximizes the value of vertical and non-retail space.
Retail analytics
Discover Dollar helps retailers and brands identify overpayments and revenue leakages by analyzing prices and discounts negotiated over emails and contracts using innovative artificial intelligence. Its AI solution can scan millions of documents across a company and spot issues in near real time. Discover Dollar works with companies like Target, Metro and Budweiser — and has helped them save $419 million to date.
Eversight brings AI-powered pricing and promotions to brands and retailers. It can optimize pricing in response to market conditions and deliver higher ROI on promotional spend. Eversight’s solutions are driving strong margin and sales volume improvements for leading companies such as Coca-Cola, Frito-Lay, Raley’s and Schnucks.
Customer service
Richpanel is an effortless customer service customer relationship management platform, used by more than 1,500 fast-growing ecommerce brands. Richpanel helps businesses that have outgrown traditional ticketing systems unlock scale and provide a customer experience through solutions like self-service portals and agent helpdesks.
Yawye is a zero-question digital research experience that measures the authentic feelings of next-gen consumers. Using cloud-based emotional intelligence data, Yawye collects and interprets people’s feelings by recording emoji responses selected by users, moment-by-moment, while they are viewing specific streaming video content. Ultimately, retailers and brands can use this information to set strategy, measure shifts and sharpen engagement.
Micro-fulfillment
Dematic is an intralogistics innovator that designs, builds and supports intelligent, automated solutions for manufacturing, warehouse and distribution environments. With engineering centers, manufacturing facilities and service centers located in more than 25 countries, the Dematic global network has helped achieve more than 6,000 worldwide customer installations for some of the world’s leading brands.
Takeoff Technologies allows grocers to place small, robotic warehouses wherever they want inside grocery stores. It offers everything from customer user interfaces to assortment and content management to micro fulfillment — allowing an order to be picked within minutes.
Brightpick is the first fully automated order fulfillment solution, making fully robotized fulfillment solutions possible for any size warehouse, dark store, e-grocer, ecommerce or qcommerce company. It automates multi-order picking and order consolidation seamlessly, utilizing proven 3D vision, artificial intelligence and robotics.
Last-mile delivery
Ottonomy provides fully autonomous robots for safe and contactless deliveries for both indoor and outdoor environments, reducing dependence on third-party delivery services. Ottonomy has built an ecosystem where a company’s fleet can be managed and controlled all through a cloud-based network operation console, which directly integrates with a company’s software.
Gatik is an autonomous middle-mile logistics company, focusing on short-haul, business-to-business goods movement for Fortune 500 retailers including Walmart and Loblaw. Gatik is targeting the middle mile, or between the distribution center and the location where product will be delivered to the consumer. It is currently the only company in North America offering class 3-6 autonomous box trucks.
Dronedek is a patented smart mailbox that completes the last mile and consolidates drone, ground robotic and traditional delivery to one secure point. With more than 111 patent claims, Dronedek has several features that enhance the user’s experience, such as a sensor-equipped, fully autonomous landing pad receptacle — bringing the mailbox into the 21st century.
Robomart powers next-minute delivery for retailers by delivering the store instead of goods. Consumers can simply tap a button to hail a store on wheels and shop at home — all in as little as two minutes.
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