Figuring out which products are in stock and which stock is likely to run low is a never-ending battle, as shoppers spend an estimated 40 billion hours picking things off shelves. It's also error-prone -- employees regularly misplace an estimated one in 10 items, contributing to global retail revenue losses exceeding $1 trillion. But drones hold the answer to the inventory tracking problem, if you ask serial entrepreneur Richard Schwartz. So strong is he in this conviction that he cofounded Pensa Systems, which develops inventory systems equipped with computer vision algorithms that "understand" what's on store shelves. The Austin startup today announced the close of a $10 million follow-on seed funding round that brings its total raised to $17.2 million, and according to investor and Pensa advisory board member James McCann, the future is looking bright.

Save big on TV brands like Samsung, Vizio, and more when you shop pre-Black Friday sales. If you make a purchase by clicking one of our links, we may earn a small share of the revenue. Our picks and opinions are independent from USA TODAY's newsroom and any business incentives. Black Friday is still over a week out, but already major retailers like Amazon and Walmart are offering incredible savings on some of the most popular TV brands out there--with one model clocking in below $250. If you're hoping to get a new TV during the holiday season, these deals are some of the best we've seen yet.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are pivotal technologies for businesses, allowing them to dig into their data to extract outcomes, predictions, and results valuable enough to steer business decisions and powerful enough to deliver actual ROI. Just take a look at how the data from millions of daily sale transactions have improved customer experience for millions of Walgreens Boots shoppers through their Advantage program; how Schneider Electric is no longer spending $20K a day on maintenance costs; the way global fashion retailer ASOS is turning gigabytes of data into better recommendations for its 19.2 million customers and boosting sales; or the countless other examples demonstrating AI's ability to deliver powerful business outcomes. As AI and machine learning become integral to every part of a business, it's essential that all employees have access to the tools and solutions that machine learning offers. It's clear that business domain experts – those with the business knowledge to identify essential challenges and opportunities – are in critical need of access to these tools. They don't have the technical expertise.

CPG executives are painfully aware that they're investing billions of dollars in trade promotions each year, but as many as 72% fail to break even¹. It's clear that promotions have become more complex and harder to manage as CPGs must respond to changing consumer behavior, increasing demands from retailers and blurring of physical and online channels. Traditional forecasting and promotion-planning systems are unable to provide real-time, accurate insights to help managers understand the big picture. Below, we'll explore seven ways in which AI can help CPG companies more effectively plan promotional events, measure outcomes and make adjustments. You can read more in the companion paper on how AI transforms promotional trade funds management.

What if you could increase interaction with your brand, boost sales and win the loyalty of an ever-expanding customer base? While there may not be a silver bullet to make that happen in the blink of an eye, several emerging technologies are elevating customer experience in ways that can directly impact your bottom line. You've heard the buzzwords: AI, AR, VR … there are enough acronyms flying around to send even the most seasoned marketer to a search engine. How is an ecommerce business supposed to keep up? Always start with your goals.

Geographically, the global artificial intelligence in retail market is segmented into five major regions, namely, North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa. The global AI in retail market is analyzed methodically with respect to major countries in each of the regions with the help of bottom-up approach to arrive at the most precise market estimation. At present, North America holds a dominating position in the global AI in retail market. The region has high technology adoption rate, presence of key players & start-ups, and high penetration of internet. Consequently, North America is expected to retain its dominance throughout the forecast period.

Gartner has unveiled its biggest predictions for IT organisations and users for 2020 and beyond. These predictions analyse how technology is changing society and the expectations of users. "Technology is changing the notion of what it means to be human," said Daryl Plummer, VP and Fellow at Gartner. "CIOs in end-user organizations must understand the effects of the change and reset expectations for what technology means." "This year's predictions help us move beyond thinking about mere notions of technology adoption and draw us more deeply into issues surrounding what it means to be human in the digital world," said Plummer.

According to a recent study conducted by Forrester Research, waiting in the checkout line is the top complaint among U.S. grocery, mass-merchandise, and convenience store shoppers. Mega-retailer Amazon and a quartet of well-funded retail technology startups -- Zippin, Standard Cognition, Grabango and Trigo -- believe they have the solution to the problem: Checkout-free stores powered by various technologies that enable shoppers to walk into the store, grab what they want off the shelves and just walk out. Autonomous checkout, another term for checkout-free, is becoming one of the hottest areas of retail investment today. It comes as the convenience expectations of today's Amazon-shopping, Grubhub-ordering, Uber-hailing consumers are ever-increasing, and informing their in-real-life (IRL) shopping demands. Brands are responding in kind, delivering digital services aimed at automating mundane tasks -- in this case, the checkout process -- so much so that the result is meant to feel "automagical," according to trend forecasting firm TrendWatching. Checkout-free retail has the potential to make shopping even more convenient, retail technology consultant Richard Crone said at this summer's National Retail Federation's NRF Tech 2019 conference in San Francisco.

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Do we have more to fear from artificial intelligence or natural stupidity? This year's best science books offer plenty of both. Artificial intelligence has been much in the news this year, even though it doesn't really exist yet – as was made clear by the story of how people's conversations with Apple's "smart assistant", Siri, were being listened to by real human beings, low-paid workers in the global digital sweatshop. Nevertheless, the arrival of really intelligent machines has the potential to transform our world utterly. Consider ordering a superintelligent computer to make paper clips.