This week’s annual conference of the National Retail Federation in New York has seen a number of IT vendors announce new products and services, including Hewlett-Packard and SAP AG.
HP touted touch and non-touch digital signage displays, a new line of value-priced displays and upgrades to its mobile and fixed point of sale (POS) solutions. SAP launched a mobile app called Shopper Experience that links social media and loyalty programs, as well as the latest version of the SAP Retail Store Ops Associate mobile app, which allows store staff to search inventory and merchandising services from the floor.
HP said its new portfolio of digital signs have LED backlights and 178-degree viewing angles so retailers can showcase their messages anywhere in the store.
They include the 42-inch diagonal HP LD4245tm and 47-inch diagonal HP LD4745tm, which offer Full High-definition resolution and integrated infrared multitouch capabilities. The units are said to have reduced power consumption. They will be available in March.
HP also announced high-end commercial-grade LED backlit displays—including the 42-inch LD4235 and 47-in. LD4735 that can be run 24-hours a day. Features include networked management, lock-out to prevent tampering, Video-over-Ethernet (VoE) for simplified cabling and a built-in basic USB media player. They’ll be available in next month.’
Finally, there are new value-priced LED backlit displays, including the 31.5-in. B321 and the 42-inch B421 for organizations that want essential features at a lower cost. The units come with a USB media player and streaming networked video support.
SAP’s Shopper Experience allows consumers to create collaborative shopping lists, redeem offers and share them with friends on Facebook and manage loyalty accounts. They can also self-scan merchandise and pay with certain mobile devices. The app, for Android and iOS devices, can be customizable to a retailer’s brand.
SAP Retail Ops Associate has been improved to give store staff the ability to order products, perform in-store markdowns, make inventory corrections and transfers, post receiving from vendors and distribution centers and provide access to product history and information.
SAP says the app, which only runs on iOS devices, helps to boost sales, enhance consumer loyalty and optimize inventory accuracy and replenishment. It can use SAP and other backend system.
