DALLAS – Day 2 kicked off at THE Tech EVENT with exciting ideas for the future of IT innovation and networking among the 400-plus retailer and supplier attendees. 

According to Jim Manzi, chairman of Applied Predictive Technologies, a solution provider that captures Big Data, the cost of storing digital information has decreased far faster than the cost of processing it. The question is what to do with all that information. 

“There is a real opportunity here, but you need to focus on where the money will be made,” he told the audience.

Instead of attempting to warehouse, evaluate and report on mountains of data, retailers should analyze “kinda big data,” he said. You may not find it efficient to scrutinize every Twitter mention, but retailers can combine data about transactions and loyalty to gather information that will help make decisions. 

Probing Big Data will generate new ideas to test through in-store experiments, such as adding extra labor in an attempt to sell more fresh food or installing a new cooler to move more soft drinks. Manzi advised that all store-based experiments include a significant sample size, a control group and a calibrated measurement method. As experiments are conducted, “you’re building a learning library,” he said.

HTML5

Philipe LeHégaret, Internet domain leader for the World Wide Web, updated IT pros on HTML5.

Today, retailers communicate with customers on an array of devices, ranging from laptops to phones to TV screens, and on fragmented platforms, including Windows, Android, Firefox and iOS. “Be prepared,” LeHégaret told the crowd. “More fragmentation is coming.”

HTML5, which is scheduled for 2014, will make it possible to quickly create a versatile, modern, web application that is accessible from any browser, desktop or mobile device. It will permit high-quality graphics and animation, automatically adapt to the user’s screen size and permit real-time communications. It will impact applications used in automobiles, as well as digital publishing.

Because it will give users more control, “More security is required,” LeHégaret said.

Marshmallow Challenge

Paper bags containing a single marshmallow, 20 sticks of dry spaghetti, a yard of tape and a bit of string were the ingredients for a leadership / innovation exercise led by Brian Rutter, director of Marketing for NACS.

Each table of IT professionals served as a team that had 18 minutes to construct a freestanding spaghetti structure with the marshmallow on top. 

Afterwards, Rutter explained that kindergarten students have more success performing the exercise than recent business school graduates because youngsters, who’ve not been taught to identify a single process, will test different ways to achieve their goal.  He added that diverse skills on individual teams contribute to the team’s success.

Leadership and Innovation

Scott Hartman, CEO and president of Rutter’s Farm Stores, wrapped up the general session with predictions about future technology.

When he discussed technology at the 2006 NACSTech event, there were no iPhones or tablets. “Now we can data mine everything that happens in the store,” he said. “I can change my digital gasoline signs from my iPhone or iPad.”

Hartman predicted that it won’t be long before drivers running low on gas will receive a message from their autos listing gas stations in the immediate area and providing real-time fuel prices. He demonstrated Rutter’s mobile applications, which include a store locator featuring gas prices, store menus, phone coupons, e-coupons and games that deliver instant prizes. “There is no more plastic reward card,” he said. “The phone is the card.”

Soon, phones will serve as mobile payment devices for most retailers, he predicted. “As an industry we’ve done an excellent job of keeping pace, but we must move faster than we are,” he said. “Young people are acclimated and trusting of the phone. These payment methods are how they will want to business with us.”