Daniel Slim / AFP via Getty Images
The Key Takeaways
- Thousands of retail suppliers and tech firms showcased new gadgets at the National Retail Federation's annual expo in Manhattan.
- Many vendors offer software and services designed to run in the background.
- A handful of the products were large and flashy, such as 3-D scanners for body parts or AI-enabled Mirrors.
The latest robots, drive-thru screens and body scanners as big as lux showers are among the gadgets that thousands of companies brought to Manhattan for a convention which is expected to bring in more than 40,000 attendees.
Many of these offerings operate in the background, and are invisible to customers. Others are designed to enhance your shopping experience. For example, the scanners, signs, and robots who cook fries or assemble pizzas.
With more than 8,000 booths across three floors of the Javits Center, this year’s "Big Show” was expected to draw visitors from big brands, according to its organizer, the National Retail Federation. The event also attracted manufacturers, payment processors and AI developers whose software focuses on nearly every aspect of retail—from writing product descriptions to chatting up customers making returns.
Here are some of the things that caught our eye, ranging from personalized mobile drive-thru menus to mirrors that let a virtual you try on clothes.
New ways to try on, and buy, clothing. Another Beeats machine, iBody 2, measures the circumference of fully clothed consumers across their chest, thighs, calves and several other points. It highlights health issues—say, a neck that tilts forward—and exercises to address them. Stores in Japan use the technology to tailor mattress recommendations, Takagishi said, and bespoke retailers and gyms may also embrace it.
Goni Labs’ mirror scans those gazing into it, creating a lifelike animation. By tapping buttons on the mirror, users can try clothes on the model and order attire. A store in Israel is testing the mirror, but Goni Labs also expects to see demand from offices and transit hubs with harried workers, as well as senior communities, founder and CEO Shlomi Atias said.
The mirror might also help brands draw in customers with physical disabilities and shoppers who feel anxious in dressing rooms, Atias said. "If you've tried to put a kid in a fitting room, and tried to make him wear something, it's impossible," he said.
Sizeo asks consumers to answer a few questions about their age, gender, height and weight, and then tells them which sizes of various brands are likely to fit best. OpenSize has people snap photos of their feet from a few angles, then recommends footwear that might be comfortable.
Tech for testing outfits—in the virtual world. Crowds periodically formed to watch body mapping machines in action. About eight dozen cameras on more than a dozen poles encircled a decal with two footprints. After standing on the marks, the iBody X creates something resembling a 3D Bitmoji of the subject.
This may be useful for brands engaging with fans in the metaverse, said Jules Takagishi, advisor for international sales at Beeats, a group selling machines manufactured by iBody.
Drive-through menus that pop up on your phone. Digital sign company Creative Realities offers drive-thru menus with QR codes that diners can scan on their phone to prompt personalized menus and deals, said Rodrick Glass, executive vice president of sales and business development.
"Smart carts" that serve up deals and take payments. Coral Behar said that a business called Shopic uses cameras to monitor what is being placed in and taken from shopping carts. A screen at the center of the device shows ads and highlights opportunities to save—and the device it self can also be used for payment, letting users skip checkout lines.
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