Elly Yates-Roberts |
Ahead of NRF 2023: Retail’s Big Show on 15-17 January, Microsoft has announced several retail media solutions aimed at helping retailers market products and offerings to consumers at the point of purchase.
The firm has updated the Microsoft Cloud for Retail to include new tools, such as Smart Store Analytics and Store Operations Assist. The former aims to make autonomous stores more affordable and scalable, and provide brands with shopper analytics, while the latter delivers data-driven tools to help store associates improve efficiency and customer experiences.
Microsoft has also shared its vision for the “most complete omnichannel retail media stack” via Microsoft PromoteIQ – a service that enables retailers to more effectively promote products. The firm has expanded the offering’s Onsite capabilities to help brands monetise more of their inventory, while the Offsite version (available from February 2023) will enable retailers to use their first-party audience data to better reach shoppers across websites and social media platforms.
Microsoft is also launching a set of new features in Teams, Viva and other applications to improve digital connectivity for retail frontline workers. The Teams Shifts connector for UKG Dimensions enables staff to view and accept open shifts, request time off, clock in and out, and more. Teams Walkie Talkie will also offer a ‘prompt to join’ feature and transmission usage reports to help store associates stay connected.
In addition, Microsoft’s shared device mode enables easy sign-in and sign-out, while new capabilities in Microsoft Viva aim transform the employee experience, such as Viva Connections, Stories in Viva Engage and a new homepage experience in the Viva Learning mobile app.
Find out more about Microsoft’s participation at NRF 2023: Retail’s Big Show.