CES 2020, Day 2: Physical Retail, Tourism and Data Strategy

CES 2020 is hosting 300 conference sessions with 1,100 speakers, covering topics such as 5G connectivity, AI, augmented and virtual reality technologies, health and wellness, robotics, smart cities, sports and more. More than 1,200 startups from over 45 countries are here showcasing their innovations.

These are our top five insights from the second day on January 8:

Digitally native stores are opening physical branches, going from clicks to bricks. Also, the West can learn from the “New Retail” in the East.

• As the costs of digital advertising rise and these adverts become less effective, digitally native brands are moving into physical retail—going from clicks to bricks—in order to sustain growth. Physical stores are also an important point of discovery for emerging brands: New stores generate an average 45% lift in web traffic, according to a survey by the International Council of Shopping Centers.
• Consumption in China is driven by a young, affluent and demanding generation, which has led to the advent of New Retail—creating a slew of new and unique paths to product discovery. Consumers are relying on key opinion leaders for product recommendations and using social media to find out what products friends are buying and using, adding another level of verification.
• Western retailers can learn from the adoption of New Retail in the East to reimagine and reinvigorate retail—and many are beginning to increase their technology spend in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI) to create a better online and offline experience.

Tourism has skyrocketed and become an essential part of retail. Technology and innovation are transforming the future of travel at all points of the journey.

• Global tourism has reached new heights, with international travel now driving more than 1 billion arrivals and some $1 trillion in spending abroad, according to data from Visa.
• People will become increasingly demanding about travel, looking for services that match their specific desires. Brands and retailers need to offer more personalized and engaging travel experiences.

• Delta laid out an ambitious plan to digitize the flying experience using machine learning, robotics, free Wi-Fi and SMS texts. Delta CEO Ed Bastian said that the company has spent billions of dollars in recent years to transform its technology from a vulnerability into an asset.

Data strategy in healthcare: The explosion in behavioral data is delivering more effective and more personalized product and service offerings.

• Healthcare data accounts for almost one-third of all the data in the world, according to Delos Cosgrove, Executive Advisor and former CEO and President of the Cleveland Clinic. The rising wave of health data and AI, the emergence of revolutionary sensors and the advent of 5G technologies are redefining traditional health to offer new, more advanced solutions.

• Sleep Number launched a new smart bed at CES 2020. The bed features built-in technology that can measure heart rate, breathing and movement. It can also balance a person’s temperature and monitor natural wake and sleep cycles.

• According to Comper Healthcare, its Comper Smarkin device is “the first smart skincare tool that can analyze, treat and improve skin using RF [radio frequency], EMS [electrical muscle stimulation], MASS [micro-vibrational massage] and LED technologies.” Users can also customize their treatments using a mobile app linked to the device, using skin data recorded during use.

Supply chains can be more resilient, such as by leveraging drones and alternative delivery locations to overcome delivery challenges.

The supply chain is no longer just about getting goods from point A to point B; it has evolved into a complex network with numerous variables. Technology is the enabler that will ensure supply-chain resilience in the face of growing complexity.

Supply chain resilience is also challenged when faced with urgent situations such as natural disasters: Around 80% of spend on humanitarian efforts goes directly to logistics—but some 40% of that is wasted.

However, there is good news: We now have a wealth of information to better understand the risks to the supply-chain process by simulating the effects of a disaster, simulating a response and then developing approaches to mitigate the challenges. Dynamic network adjustments are one key tool, and technology continues to offer greater access to new solutions.

UPS is leveraging drones and other alternative delivery approaches to enhance its own logistics capabilities, especially in healthcare.

We are witnessing a parallel rise in the effects of climate change and the use of disruptive technologies to mitigate the risks it is creating.

• Coolfinity has developed a refrigerator that requires only six hours of power per day to provide 24 hours of cooling—in external temperatures as high as 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Not only is it energy saving, it could be transformative in countries that experience irregular power supplies—especially in healthcare, as many medications need to be kept cool.

• Skoon says it operates the world’s first battery-sharing platform, which allows users to rent mobile battery-powered electric stations where they might otherwise use a mobile diesel generator. The batteries are charged using renewable sources, and sharing the batteries lessens their impact on the environment. The platform offers automated charging and other services, as well as real-time monitoring and usage statistics.

• Hydraloop develops compact, smart, self-cleaning, low-maintenance water-recycling products. With Hydraloop, consumers can recycle 85% of their domestic water.