Live streaming platform comparison of the top 10 solutions in 2020. A complete guide including key features, pros, cons, and pricing for business.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: a review of 10 live streaming technologies - basically video conferencing for shopping. As we move into maturity of eCommerce solutions beyond the simple catalog-search-filter need to be considered. And in a world of massive store closure and covid fears, this may be an attractive solution for retailers.
this article, published on august 27th, 2020 gives 10 recommendations for great live streaming platforms. Although this article is very vast in terms of what it covers. It is very informative, providing even the beginning live streamer practical knowledge.
The challenge of search and recommending products online is increasingly being solved with data science as e-tailers compete on personalisation. New e-commerce platform Psykhe makes recommendations based on personality traits by identifying both the user and the products; its models can assign products a “personality profile”, informed by traits such as openness or neuroticism, in addition to traditional details, without human input. Resale platform Rebag has developed a universal taxonomy for designer handbags to better appraise products. And Facebook recently unveiled GrokNet, a tool that automatically identifies and describes items in pictures to help people sell items on its marketplace.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: an essential part of shopping is product search and discovery. Easy to do in stores: just walk around, look at products on racks. More difficult to do in eCommerce websites. Technology, and especially AI, is being pulled to help identify product characteristics automatically so that searching for a "confortable summer dress with flower patterns" becomes possible.
Organizations should first consider how the behind-the-scenes logistics of their “Full Service 2.0” offering will be best facilitated by advances in technology. Ride-sharing services could provide a chauffeur-like experience by modifying their algorithms to allow a user to request trips with the same driver instead of the first available car. Hotels may accelerate the introduction of robots to handle room deliveries or other in-room services in a socially distant manner. Technology gives organizations new options to address the previously high costs of high-touch, full-service models or the uncertainties around service and delivery times that turned away consumers from these services.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: the covid pandemic will see a surge in "low touch" solutions (think doors that open automatically or paypass wireless payment). Here, MIT Sloan highlights that "high touch" businesses (think taxis and hotels) will have to look at technology to reduce the impact of their model in a social distancing world.
Reprioritize your capital expenditure to bring forward technology investment in smart robot technology for cost optimization during and post-COVID-19, as well as to augment or release human resources for revenue-generating activities.
Prioritize productivity and labor needs for the business to shortlist the vendor offerings. This research provides a number of potentially suitable vendors.
Create a multidisciplinary team to assess key processes, identifying the best use cases for smart robots, making sure to include store associates.
Create a smart robot implementation value scorecard to assess and prioritize the suggested use cases.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: watch for robots to start making guest appearances in stores as covid post-pandemic distanciation come into effect - and as retailers have pressure to raise minimum wage. This report provides very good insights and examples of retailers that have already deployed robots.
Learn how you can combine the power and data across a single cable to reduce cabling, improve safety, and simplify installation.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: it is important to consider infrastructure as part of digital transformation plans. POE is one example that should always be considered. True, wireless rules the world with WIFI and bluetooth but power remains an essential component until battery technology and wireless power become reality. With retail having to innovate, I assume stores will get a facelift - which should include things like POE.
Integration, Speed To Insights, And Real-Time Decisioning Matter Most For Orchestration
Vendors that take a technology-agnostic approach to integration can deliver insights at speed across all permutations of journeys. They also have a proven track record in real-time decisioning across a wide variety of systems and can help companies drive business results and CX differentiation.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: customer centric and omnichannel approaches are essential in today's retail & ecommerce. Tools have started to appear that help track path through the journey and provide consolidated metrics. This list is a great starting point and I am happy to see Quebec-based Coveo be part of the list this yer.
The trends in this report — while buttressed by data and evidence — are meant to shake our faith in steady trend lines. They point to areas where conditions are ripe for discontinuity and disruption. This report asks us, in effect, to “watch these spaces,” and expect to see surprises and opportunities. In that spirit, here are 14 tech trends that deserve close attention in the first year of the 2020s
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: an amazing overview of technologies that are on the horizon. They range from bizarre - empathy design? - to the probable and useful - supply chain tech improvements. Read it.
By using a risk-scoring system that considers the intensity, frequency, and duration of interactions along the customer journey, restaurants can find ways to improve productivity and address health concerns.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: I like this approach of assigning "scores" to different tasks in thee value chain - here for risk levels - so as to evaluate where to prioritize efforts, and possible compare different restaurants.
Kiosk sales are expected to accelerate post-pandemic, due to affordability of its footprint and sanitary interface, when compared to a crowded store.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: interesting chart of the growth in RFPs for vending kiosks which we all assume has been fueled by covid low touch requirements. Not sure if it will hold or if kiosks are the solution but certainly worth considering this as a potential tech growth sector...
Some companies won’t survive the current crisis; others will emerge better positioned for the future. Much will depend on fashion’s digital transformation.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: it IS possible to launch eCommerce fast and it delivers value and results. What is not said in there: setup an ecommerce requires all hands on deck from procurement to fulfillment, hard decisions must be made fast often breaking established rules, and do not expect project to be complete after 13 weeks - actually pan for it to last another 9 to 18 months!
Shoptalk’s Retail Framework for COVID-19 provides a comprehensive view of how retail is set to evolve over the next 12-36 months. The framework includes a timeline of 30+ areas that are poised to change as a result of COVID-19, examining shifts in consumer behavior, operational changes, category implications and more.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: great idea and very useful framework to gather the best and brightest ideas on pre and post covid response for retail! There is a *lot* in there.
Aura connects to the existing cameras of the location you want to monitor. Thanks to a plug and play installation, Aura will be functioning almost instantly; while the results will be available in the next 24 hr. Besides the general demographic information such as age, (7 range are provided) and gender; Aura can, as well, help to monitor what the customer is doing. The latter is possible by providing: Footfall, Area dwell times, Heatmaps, Service wait times.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: Aura is a SaaS solution that I saw in recent technology shows where they use AI to analyze your camera feeds to report in real-time metrics about your store. Here the article is all about how pop-up stores can use this information to fine-tune their stores. But the use cases are endless.
The digital experience conference has gone digital. Hear from Adobe leaders. Discover new product innovations. Explore 100+ breakouts across six tracks. All in your browser and on demand. View it now.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: one chart from many from the Adobe summit shows how Adobe plans to position itself in the eCommerce. Moreover, the visualization is clear: most of the revenue online is in the top tiers.
Chinese startup UDI deploys self-driving vans to deliver food to lockdown areas. To do that, the startup has hired 100 employees and is preparing to put its assembly line into high gear in the next several months. “I’m not saying we solved all the problems,” Professor Liu says, citing system integration and cost as the biggest challenges. “Can we do better? Yes, it can always be better.”Click here to edit the content
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: tragedies often inspire innovation. I assume the autonomous vehicle will get a shot in the arm in the new normal of limited contacts. Watch the videos in the article to get a feeling on how the vans drive themselves - it is sometimes scary. Lots of improvements are required.
2020 Retail Technology Report: An Analysis of Trends, Buying Behaviors, and Future Opportunities. Get a better understanding of their current usage of technology, future technology needs and wants, and their processes within their organizations for technology purchases.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: recent survey provides good insights into priorities that retailers have. Spoiler: AR-VR not high on the list. Surprisingly facial recognition is not top priority: privacy concerns?
The coronavirus outbreak will continue to propel funding, acquisitions, partnerships, and experimentation by brands and retailers as they are forced to grapple with global supply challenges posed by our increasingly interdependent world.
Regardless of the coronavirus’s impact on the global economy, we will surely face a similar situation in the future; brands, retailers, and their supply chains will need to be prepared.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: once we get over the health crisis, we will need to address the economic crisis. Key supply chain technologies will offer retailers and manufacturers solutions to reduce cost and their dependency on global trade fluctuations.
En réponse à la crise reliée au COVID-19, TechnoMontréal vous dévoile des entreprises, organisations et individus oeuvrant dans la sphère de l’innovation technologique à l’échelle du Québec et dont les solutions répondent de façon agile, rapide et immédiate aux défis auxquels notre société et notre économie font face actuellement. Cet effort collectif vise à mettre de l’avant un catalogue d’innovations technologiques gratuitement et disponible à tous !
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: Montreal et le Québec est rempli d'entreprises innovantes qui fournissent des solutions technologiques essentielles en cette période de crise - et par la suite pour en sortir! Le mur deviendra la référence de ces solutions et a été lancé le 3 avril 2020.
Enterprise marketplaces help organizations embrace digital business models by engaging with ecosystem partners and generating new revenue. Application leaders for digital commerce technologies should understand the technical and operational imperatives to successfully build and operate marketplaces.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: marketplaces are all the rage these days. This report highlights key considerations for retailers that wish to go down that path.
It's like other Amazon Go stores, only bigger. But it's a meaningful difference. Interesting story on how a guy walked into an Amazon GO store and was able to steal things.
TLDR; Guy walks in, puts items in bag Goes to bathroom, changes outfit and look Continue walking and picking up items Amazon only charges for first batch of items.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: since the launch of amazon GO convenience store in 2016, the concept of walk-in, grab stuff, leave, felt perfect for small orders (sandwich, drinks and cookies for lunch anyone). They just opened a grocery store now, which has the potential to disrupt the retail market more profoundly (Amazon bought WholeFood a while back). This article explains how the store works but also uncovers a flaw in the camera system: if you change your appearance during a visit the system can loose track of you. Interesting use case...
When Google researchers presented a deep bidirectional Transformer model that addresses 11 NLP tasks and surpassed even human performance in the challenging area of question answering, it was seen as a game-changer in NLP/NLU.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: the use of natural language processing is bound to impact retail. But how? Better mobile assistants to help find and buy products? Improved customer service? In store employee augmentation via kiosks or sounds analysis of shoppers? Looking forward to find more at CES and NRF...
The retail industry is experiencing rapid disruption caused by new technologies and changing customer expectations. The purpose of this map is solution focused – to understand how to cope with the sector's major shifts and to provide key players with the tools to thrive throughout their transformation.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: retail technologies will support most of the retail shopping experience changes in the coming years. Here is a review of the main players in Israel.
A leading Canadian grocer will pilot automated fulfillment of its buy-online-pickup-in-store (BOPIS) offering.
Loblaw Inc. is building an automated picking facility to support its PC Express BOPIS service. Leveraging a hyperlocal fulfillment solution from Takeoff Technologies that functions in compact vertical spaces, Loblaw will launch the 12,000-sq.-ft. facility inside one of its GTA Real Canadian superstores in 2020.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: order fulfillment and delivery is the last remaining hurdle to eCommerce. Loblaws in Canada will pilot a micro-fulfillment solution from TakeOff that impressed me last year at Shoptalk. In short, they create an automated back-store where eCommerce orders are prepared with a huge amount of automation. The question remains whether the economics is better for micro-fulfillment or if centralized warehouse fulfillment with hub-and-spoke delivery is better suited for high volume / low margin eCommerce that grocery is about. Thus this "test" by Loblaws. Note that Sobeys has decided in favor of more centralized ocado-driven automated warehouse and Metro remains with the more traditional decentralized (and manual) store-based pick-pack-deliver process. Given the low volume of orders for online grocery in Canada I remain partisan of a store-based manual approach but the economics I got from TakeOff was promising. Below additional links if you want to read more about takeoff and ocado.
See below a chart comparing different out-of-stock solutions, their value proposition, challenges, benefits and costs to see how Focal's Shelf-Mounted Cameras stack up against the competition.
Farid Mheir's insight:
WHY IT MATTERS: technology is tackling manpower shortage in retail. Here an example of how cameras, robots and drones are leveraged to perform out-of-stock detection on store shelves. When you realize that certain store may have 25000 or more products, the time required to identify out-of-stocks for replenishment and the lost sales makes those technologies useful and cost effective.
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this article, published on august 27th, 2020 gives 10 recommendations for great live streaming platforms. Although this article is very vast in terms of what it covers. It is very informative, providing even the beginning live streamer practical knowledge.