Retail IT News For VARs —January 19, 2014
By Phillip Britt, contributing writer
In the news, National Retail Federation (NRF) CEO and president Matthew Shay provides an update of the organization’s advocacy and education efforts in his address to Big Show 2015 attendees. In other news, a British supermarket chain has created an app for Google Glass, and large hotels can compete with smaller hotels when it comes to personalization by leveraging technology.
Shay Addresses NRF Big Show Crowd
In his remarks at the show, NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay said the organization’s membership continues to climb and now totals almost 18,000. “Those big numbers are impressive, but alone, they don’t mean much,” says Shay. “To have impact, they need to be invested in ways that achieve our members’ priorities — in advocacy, communications, and education.”
For example, the NRF brought hundreds of retailers to Washington, D.C., last summer for the first annual Retail Advocates Summit. The NRF also named “Heroes of Main Street” among members of U.S. Congress whose voting records supported priorities of retailers.
Shay said the NRF has a list of retail-specific priorities for Congress, including the Marketplace Fairness Act to level the playing field between online and brick-and-mortar retailers regarding collecting state sales tax.
He said last year, the NRF weighed in on the debate on patent litigation reform and wants to work to have patent litigation reform signed into law. He added that the NRF agrees with President Barack Obama’s Executive Order concerning issuing credit cards that have chips and require PINs.
The NRF offers a recap of news from last week’s Big Show at http://bigshow15.nrf.com/recap. The resource includes session articles, videos, and other materials from the show with a record-number 33,000 attendees.
Google Glass App Developed for Grocery Shopping
According to The Guardian, British supermarket chain Tesco has created an app for Google Glass. The user can either speak to Glass to search for items or they can scan bar codes of items in front of them at the store. If shoppers search for items, the app adds them to their digital carts for purchase and delivery.
The shopper can also check the nutritional content of products, and employees can use the app to check how much of an item they have in stock.
Large Hotels Need Technology To Compete When It Comes To Personalization
In a discussion with Skift Small Luxury Hotels of the World CEO Paul Kerr said that if customers have resources to learn about hotels, they can feel comfortable choosing a small hotel and experience a personalized stay. Kerr feels that if the big hotel companies can offer what small hotels do by leveraging technology, they have a chance to win this business.