Retailers today are in a bit of a pickle. How can they use customer data to deliver a compelling, personalized shopping experience without appearing invasive or creepy?
That’s an area where Microsoft has devoted a lot of attention. In addition to its own retail offerings, the company’s Windows Embedded product group and its partners offer a wide variety of intelligent systems solutions to help advance the retail industry. Steve Dunbar, a Windows Embedded lead in Northern Europe, just returned from an industry event in Majorca, Spain, and the blog post he published is illuminating.
One of the things Dunbar talks about is how the issues facing retailers don’t really concern online sales vs. physical stores, as some people think, but how to use intelligent systems to add value in ways that cross both experiences. The video above from earlier this year shows some great examples.
During the recent event in Majorca, Dunbar delivered a presentation on how retailers can take advantage of the explosion of devices that will be sold over the next five years, the amount of data those devices will generate, and the opportunity to capture and analyze that data for business intelligence. If you’re interested in how these developments are changing the face of retail today, read Windows Embedded General Manager Kevin Dallas’ article Intelligent Systems Defining New Retail Experiences.
Steve Clarke
Microsoft News Center Staff