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ICX Symposium: Intel talks the responsive revolution in retail

The ICX Symposium in Atlanta later this month will feature a session featuring an Intel executive addressing the transformation of retail through responsive stores. ICX Association Executive Director Scott Slucher interviewed him about the interplay of tech and CX.

October 21, 2015 by Scott Slucher

By Scott Slucher, Executive Director, ICX Association

I often refer to Moore's Law, an observation made by one of Intel's co-founders some 50 years ago that that basically says the computing power of a silicon chip doubles every two years while the cost to produce it halves. That rate of innovation has been a constant ever since, making it sometimes difficult for retailers to keep track of a rapidly changing tech landscape.

It's with great pride that the ICX Symposium in Atlanta features Intel's own Ravi Sirigineedi, who will deliver a session on the first afternoon of the Atlanta ICX Symposium entitled, "Transforming Retail with Responsive Stores," that looks at how the Internet of Things enables retailers to create more personalized, one-to-one shopping experiences.

I asked Ravi to share his thoughts on the subject of technology's impact on the customer experience.

Who are you and what do you do?

I'm Ravi Sirigineedi, pronounced Siri + Ghee + Needy, and I'm the Visual Retail Segment Marketing Manager in the IoT Retail Solutions Division at Intel.

What makes you uniquely qualified to speak on the interplay of tech and CX?

I've worked for Intel for the past 16 years in various capacities: engineering, business and marketing. In short, I'm one of the technology experts at Intel focused on solving business challenges.

In the role of Visual Retail Segment Marketing Manager, I work closely with the digital signage ecosystem that includes OEMs, ISVs, brands, creative agencies and system integrators to shape the future of new technology platforms that deliver richer, more engaging and more relevant customer experiences.

What excites you most about where technology is going, as it relates to CX?

It's easy to innovate in retail with technology today. Technology has transformed our world. It's transformed us — our changing expectations! And it's transforming retail experiences and customer shopping behavior.

In a rapidly changing technological landscape, what is the single most important trait companies must possess in order to thrive?

Those companies engaging with technology are reinventing how they do business, how they gain insight about their customers, and how they can connect with them in deeper ways. It used to be the big fish ate the small fish. In business today, the fast fish eats the slow fish. If companies don't meet the expectations of the customer's technology experience by investing in digital, their competitors will.

What are some key values that will allow your organization to be successful five years from now?

As technology experts, we're engaging and enabling this transformation of retail through innovative applications in the store, and thereby meeting customer expectations and enhancing their shopping experience.

What is a huge misconception about technology and what it can do for B2C brands?

It's not all about the technology. It's about fast data. Fast data enables retail to emulate the mom-and-pop-store experience. Real-time data and technology are key to transforming the business/brand. Technology will enable collection and sensing of fast data to feed the real-time analytics that allow you to serve customers like a mom and pop would.

What are some innovations that you see in the near-term future that really excite you?

Innovation in cognitive systems, rich media analytics and real-time stream processing and analytics are really exciting. We pride ourselves on enabling brands to connect with consumers on the go in one-to-one engagements. As such, you will see industry investments in and adoption of technologies that give us the ability to measure the audience in real time and quantitatively, and then leverage such data plus other data sources to deliver proximity marketing. The future of digital signage, for example, as a media channel, is all about enabling one-to-one engagements that are impactful and actionable. In addition, we see every screen becoming audience and context aware, secure and remotely managed.

What is the biggest caution for early adopters of new tech innovations?

Technology innovation and investments need to be addressing a business challenge and have to be constantly revisited. Companies should anticipate customer expectations to change and plan to future-proof their investments, especially in the computing element.

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The ICX Symposium is Oct. 27 and 28 in Atlanta. Tickets are available here.

Scott Slucher has spent his career working in and around CX, covering the kiosk, digital signage and retail markets as an editorial contributor for KioskMarketplace.com, DigitalSignageToday.com and RetailCustomerExperience.com. He later joined Networld Media Group full time as an account executive, where he worked with a wide array of clients in these markets. Most recently, Scott held the position of VP, Sales and Marketing, at a mystery shopping and brand auditing firm, deepening his interest in what makes for good CX. Part of that experience required doing field work to research and document customer experiences for major brands.