Ahold Delhaize will explore potential retail applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in a partnership with the Innovation Center for Artificial Intelligence (ICAI), a project of the University of Amsterdam and VU University Amsterdam. The Zaandam, Netherlands-based global food retailer said its partnership is the first lab within the ICAI, which was launched yesterday at Amsterdam Science Park. Dubbed the AIRlab, the joint ICAI-Ahold Delhaize industry lab will have seven PhDs researching socially responsible algorithms that can be used to make recommendations to consumers and transparent AI technology for managing supply chain flows, according to Ahold Delhaize. The retailer's Albert Heijn and bol.com brands will participate in the research. In addition, the AIRLab will focus on talent development.

Get cost optimization recommendations based on your spend with secure read-only unintrusive access. In minutes, identify opportunities - right-sizing, reserved instance planning, idle/orphaned resource insights, for continuous cost optimisation. Get cost optimization recommendations based on your spend with secure read-only unintrusive access. In minutes, identify opportunities - right-sizing, reserved instance planning, idle/orphaned resource insights, for continuous cost optimisation.

Shopkeepers in emerging markets seldom use technology only to have a better "picture" of their business, they usually have been running their shops for many years and think they know everything they need to in order to be successful. They are drawn to much more tangible value propositions if they are to use an electronic POS system. The value prop has to address a real, instant, and tangible pain point. At the same time, on-boarding barriers and learning curves have to be taken down or reduced. In Frogtek we try to achieve this by using data and algorithms to automatically build and update a massive product database and eliminate the need to create from scratch the shop inventory before the system is rolled out, by offering a pricing feature that automatically adapts to the shop's price-levels and provides accurate pricing suggestions when new products show up.

The artificial intelligence revolution has arrived and it should not worry anyone. AI is changing jobs (not replacing them) and augmenting human tasks in consumer goods, manufacturing, customer service and many more verticals. In retail and fashion, the biggest opportunities are in trend forecasting and better supply chain management. It's true that IT and customer service have been the first areas to see real change from the application of artificial intelligence to trim costs and increase efficiency. Last year, however, a number of brands, including the direct-to-consumer label Everlane, backed off after adopting AI-powered chatbots, because customers found them frustrating to use.

So, just how is AI improving the retail experience? Like most men in the world, shopping (especially shopping for clothes) is an unpleasant experience for me, as I really feel like my time could be much better utilized. I make it a personal mission to get in and out in minimal time. So, I wonder to myself, "Could AI make my experience better?" But I think there's a lot of potential for retailers to use AI to improve my shopping experience and make sure that I find what I need as quickly as possible, ensuring that I shop more frequently.

Despite the off-putting headlines and the ongoing shuttering of physical store locations, fashion apparel retailers might have reason to be hopeful. New technologies continue to serve as a beacon of hope -- and survival -- for merchants and suppliers.As chief scientist of JDA Software Group Inc.'s research and development team and supply chain innovation hub, Suresh Acharya described current conditions as "amazing times where new innovations" are coming out of research and are "capturing people's imaginations." Machine learning, artificial intelligence and predictive analytics is transforming retail. Here, Acharya shares his thoughts on the technologies that are shaping and disrupting the industry.WWD: There is a lot of discussion in the market about how artificial intelligence and machine learning is transforming business processes.

Pepper the robot certainly gets around. Besides welcoming folks at department stores and airports, the friendly android is also helping out at Pizza Hut and even working as a Buddhist priest. It recently put in a spell at a grocery store in Scotland, too, though admittedly that didn't work out so well. The diminutive droid's latest gig is at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. The organization claims to be "the first museum, research, and education complex in the world to experiment with this new and innovative technology," and is using 25 of the robots across its various locations in D.C. Built by Japanese telecoms giant SoftBank in collaboration with French robotics firm Aldebaran SAS, Pepper can recognize faces and emotions, and respond through voice or by showing messages and information on its torso-based tablet.

According to real estate data firm Co-Star, over 90 million square feet of retail space is slated to close this year, leading observers to point to an obvious truth: empathy matters in customer service. Getting it right is another story. When businesses are out of touch with consumer needs, consumers stop buying and stores start dying. Enter "affective computing," an area of research involving machines that can read and display emotional intelligence, with applications as far ranging from preventative medicine to music lessons and every commercial sector in between. The retail industry isn't the only one eying "emotion AI" as a potential savior from digital disruption, but the physical spaces that characterize the retail experience ares providing innovators with a ripe venue to demonstrate the power that capturing and understanding customer sentiment can have.

If you're still wondering what is conversational commerce? It's a way of shopping or making any purchase online within a messaging or chat channel, like Facebook Messenger or Telegram by interacting with a brand's chatbot. We open a messaging channel to interact with a brand, a chatbot welcomes us, asks how it can help, and we're ultimately presented with just-the-right product or service we need. A virtual department store with a virtual salesperson, or a virtual assistant helping us place food or taxi orders: sounds like a refreshing at-home shopping and customer experience, yes? That's because it's meant to.

"I see them as kind of a great white shark. You don't really want to mess with them." The words are those of a former manager at Amazon – and she is describing her former employer. It is an apt analogy. Amazon is huge – worth $740bn (£530bn) at Monday night's share price – but it moves fast and is a lethal predator.