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Robotics is one of the more exciting spaces right now and while there was no lack of vendors at NRF 2019, perhaps the space is not conducive to display and demo some of the more exciting systems (space limitations). Readers may also be interested in Styleintelligence's Goods to Person robotics 2018 report available for free here. Types of robots on display The types of robots available at NRF2019 can be split into three different categories: Customer Service Robots, Stock Check Robots and Warehouse Robots. It should be noted that we did not document ALL the robotics available at NRF. However,...

A review of the frictionless store concepts on view at #NRF2019; Ai-Fi, Cloud Pick, Cisco, Toshiba, Zippin, and Soul-M. Only one of these appeared commercially available right now - Cloud Pick, a Chinese company.

At a recent visit to #NRF2019 we noticed a less than perfect working AI which apparently mistook a man's elbows for two packets of Cheerios. We presume there is a potential for these types of 'AI mistakes' once these stores are rolled out on mass scale. Not all stores will have the very latest technology and may come with flaws such as this. How do you explain to your customers that their elbows look like Cheerios? Image source: STIQ Ltd, 2019 The real thing

This simply is the place to be if you are into retail and retail technology. The show attracts 37,000 visitors including 16,000 retailers covers 265,000 sqft in Manhattan. Despite retail's headwinds, the show looks promising and we are yet again on the spot to report from the show. Day 1 INTEL How does a TRex tell smaller dinosaurs there is definitely s space for them.  H&M sent 8 people to attend NRF. Shows the level of interest in the show.    

A review of Noah Conference London, Oct 30-31, 2018. A list of retail technology companies looking for funding. Some of which may be looking at an IPO in 2019 (Farfetch presented at the conference in 2017 and IPO'd in 2018!).