IKEA is delaying the launch of its smart blinds until later in 2019 in order to work on a firmware update. The Verge reports that the Swedish furniture maker pushed back the release date for the smart blinds, which were expected in Europe last month and in the US in April, because it found an opportunity for "improved functionality". IKEA said that the belated launch means that the smart blinds will be compatible with Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant right away, instead of in a later firmware update. Both the KADRILJ and FYRTUR smart blinds are attractive due to their low price; the KADRILJ starts at around $113 dollars and the FYRTUR starts at around $136 dollars, based on their European pricing. Some existing smart blind options such as Somfy or Velux start at twice that amount.

Nuro, a self-driving car company founded by two former Google employees, today announced that it's expanding its driverless delivery partnership with grocery giant Kroger to a new market: Houston. This follows pilots in Scottsdale, Arizona that kicked off in August, first with a fleet of modified Toyota Priuses and then with Nuro's custom vehicle, R1. In Houston, Nuro will service four zip codes -- 77401, 77096, 77005, and 77025 -- near two Kroger locations, one on 10306 South Post Oak Road and other off of 5150 Buffalo Speedway. Customers within range will be able to place autonomous same-day or next-day delivery orders via Kroger's website or app seven days a week (based on slot availability) later this spring, for a flat price of $5.95. Once an order is placed, store employees will load the groceries into one of several compartments in Nuro's thin, stout R1, which packs a proprietary mix of laser sensors, cameras, and computers. The vehicles top out at a speed of 25 miles per hour and are fully driverless, although for now escorted by human-driven cars.

Like many one-note fashion brands before it, luxury lingerie brand Cosabella wants to become a lifestyle brand. Cosabella is using artificial intelligence and machine learning to track customer behavior, high- and low-performing products, and popular silhouettes and color patterns to predict what new categories and pieces will sell. "The smarter we get with AI, the longer our customer stays with us. The longer a customer stays with us, the better we get at improving product, fit, fabric and silhouette," said Cosabella CEO Guido Campello. Cosabella, which sells its items globally through its own channels as well as through wholesale partners like Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's, operates a 100-person team.

The retail category as a whole will spend $5.9 billion this year on tools like automated customer service agents and product recommendation generators, while the banking sector is set to put $5.6 billion toward more security-oriented AI uses like fraud prevention and threat intelligence, according to the report. Total spending from businesses on AI is projected to reach nearly $35.8 billion in 2019--a 44 percent increase from last year--and $79.2 billion by 2022. The retail industry's investment in AI comes as ecommerce companies struggle to compete with Amazon's personalized recommendation and pricing algorithms and increasingly cut out traditional retailers to sell directly to consumers. Efficiency in such a cutthroat environment requires the constant processing of customer and transaction data often made possible by machine learning. Meanwhile, banks see AI as a means to cut costs and beef up effectiveness around expensive security and compliance operations, which are complex but quantitative enough for AI functions to handle. All told, the top-funded use cases included automated customer service agents ($4.5 billion worldwide), sales process recommendation and automation ($2.7 billion) and automated threat intelligence and prevention systems ($2.7 billion).

Also explore the AI in Retail interactive white paper, linked from the infographic, to discover more ways AI can provide business value, such as by helping you protect customer data.

This year's sold out #shoptalk2019 conference was both engaging and enlightening. The event brought together 8,500 participants from the retail ecosystem to share trends, technologies, and innovations on how to be a better retailer – particularly in the age of digital. Anil Aggarwal, CEO of Shoptalk, introduced himself to the crowd with the comment, "[Retail] needs to transform for a modern digital age." For Anil, this was an imperative, not just a nice to have. For me, however, the experience was even more lucid than Anil's interpretation – especially around AI technology.

When you buy something at the supermarket, what makes you pick one brand - or one product - over another? Retailers invest huge sums trying to understand this decision-making process, or influence it, in a UK grocery market worth almost £200bn. We know supermarkets can learn a huge amount about us by studying what we buy. But our research also suggests that we form personal bonds with products over time, as we try to self-justify our buying decisions. In short, we do not just buy what we prefer, we end up preferring what we buy; and this means we are more open to influence than we might think.

Refrigerator doors in supermarkets are being replaced with LCD screens that scan a shopper's face to show personalised pop-up adverts. Chicago-based Cooler Screens sells its products to stores which show the food or drink available inside. However, they are also used to display specific adverts based on the physical characteristics of the shopper. The cameras in the screens are not designed to prevent theft but instead are intended to give a personalised shopping experience through specific adverts. Supermarket chain Walgreens is believed to be testing the screens in half a dozen of its stores around the US.

Pedro Larrañaga is Full Professor in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) since 2007, where he co-leads the Computational Intelligence Group. He received the MSc degree in mathematics (statistics) from the University of Valladolid and the PhD degree in computer science from the University of the Basque Country (excellence award). Before moving to UPM, his academic career was developed at the University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU) at several faculty ranks: Assistant Professor (1985-1998), Associate Professor (1998-2004) and Full Professor (2004-2007). He earned the habilitation qualification for Full Professor in 2003. Professor Larrañaga has served as Expert Manager of Computer Technology area at the Deputy Directorate of research projects of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (2007-2010).

The world is heading fast towards digital transformation. The fashion industry is also going through significant transformation changing the retail landscape. Artificial intelligence is shaping the manner of purchasing clothes. From 3D avatars to closet consultants, implementation of AI has made purchasing of products more personalized with chatbots helping the consumers. Big fashion brands like Myntra, H&M, Tommy Hilfiger, Amazon, and others are successful in using AI and data analytics to figure out clothing designs.