I know some people get freaked out by this, but I cannot wait for predictive analytics to become the norm both at retail and by all the other internet services and apps that I use. I WANT and EXPECT those companies to use technology, algorithms, facial recognition and whatever else they know about me to give me a totally personal experience based not only on my past behavior but also anticipating what will thrill me in the future.

Great piece on this by Oliver Guy, Global Industry Director, Retail, Software AG. I’ve done a quick recap below but definitely worth checking out the entire article from RISNews.

Highlights:

1. Retailers are leveraging predictive analytics to know what customers will want (and when) before they do.

2. Augmented reality starting to become more commonplace in stores e.g. Hololens at Lowe’s (which I wrote about recently) and now VR at Ikea.

3. Retailers are embracing the IoT in such a way that it will make every loyalty customer feel coddled and important. These sensor-oriented devices, found throughout stores, will enable detailed and targeted customer centricity and will deliver a super-personalized customer experience.