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⁠The VisionR team attended the annual National Retail Federation’s Big Show from January 14th-16th in the Javits Centre in lower Manhattan. Our CTO, Sales Lead, & the Founders (Shane & I) flew out from Dublin Airport with big expectations with this being our second year in a row. We took in some sights and battled the jet lag before going to the launch party at the Marriot Marquis Times Square.\n\nThis year, rather than just the one floor, two whole floors were taken up by NRF members, one themed fire and the other ice. There was generous big prizes, food, and beverages. Unfortunately, none of our team won big, but we each still won vouchers for local stores and networked with retailers. We were also able to meet television and rap star, Ice-T, who was there to meet, greet, and generally hang out. \n\nThe retail showcase began at 10am on Sunday, the Javits Centre quickly filled up with thousands of retailers from all over the world. Aside from the US, Brazil, Japan, and Mexico were all well represented, we also spoke to retailers from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Trinidad and Tobago, Serbia, Lithuania, Egypt, Singapore, and Ukraine. \n\nOn Sunday, we spent the majority of the day at our stall due to the amount of engagement we were receiving, what helped stop retailers in their tracks was the interactive element. Our AI Smart Camera (Scout) was set up to show passers by their shopper type by instantly analysing their movements, facial structure, body type, and clothing. This garnered a lot of attention from people curious to know how it was done exactly and how they could action these insights to drive brick-and-mortar sales.\n\nI made time to look around at other interesting technologies on display at the event, Innovation Lab alumni such as \nHypervsn\n, a company that can project 3D holographic moving-images that float in midair. It felt very Blade Runner 2049.\n\nWhile some of the larger companies you would expect to see such as \nMicrosoft\n, \nGoogle Cloud\n, & \nSAP\n were seen to be continuing their market dominance.\n\nLastly, two final shoutouts are \nNeuRetail\n and \nCooler Screens\n to be very interesting. \nNeuRetail\n provides a shopping cart that can speak to the shopper, analysing their basket, and recommending complimentary products. \nCooler Screens\n are a Chicago based in-store digital signage company, that show a shopper every product inside a cooler, clearly and concisely, saving the shopper time on needing to root around inside for items that they think or assume might be there. \n\nWhile we were very busy for the entirety of the three-day event, \nSharon Yourell Lawlor\n (who if you don’t follow for the latest in Irish retail you’re sorely missing out!) managed to wrangle up a few of the Irish attendees for a group picture. She was researching as much new tech as possible, with the hope of finding ideal solutions for the Irish market. \n\nUltimately, VisionR were able to connect with our industry in-person. The retail industry never sleeps, and the times of year that we associate with rest, like Christmas, Easter, Summer Holidays, are conversely the busiest times for people in the retail community. So, getting to speak to people in a more relaxed environment for three days, was a truly great way to start our year. \n\nEven though we were hit with a ‘Snow Bomb’ in our final two days, we were still able to visit great New York establishments like The Comedy Cellar, The Finer Diner, Gallagher’s Steak House, and our favourite Manhattan Liberal Bar, Rudy’s Bar & Grill, where a free hot dog is given with every pint ordered. We look forward to attending NRF in January 2025, where we’ll have even bigger things planned!

The VisionR team attended the annual National Retail Federation’s Big Show from January 14th-16th in the Javits Centre in lower Manhattan.

VisionR at the NRF Big Show in New York, 2024

In April 2024, London media group, The Business of Fashion, released a comprehensive case study on luxury retailers which analysed the price differences in certain staple product ranges from 2019 up until now. Their results showed that in the five-year period, a significant marking up in price had taken place. \n\n\n\nThe case study is titled \nSelling Luxury to the 1%\n and states that “The price of luxury goods has soared, as brands look to protect margins and target wealthy clients who are more insulated from economic uncertainties”.\nEx Gucci marketeer, Fabbio Becheri, argued that from what he’s seen over the past 5 years, certain brands have raised their prices by up to 52% on their most popular products, seemingly without much of a parallel to global inflation.  \nKamille Koula of Evelab Insight opined that “The price rises could have been justified if the quality of the craftsmanship remained the same over the years.” She argues that there has been no such improvement in quality of note, and that this is causing the average shopper to be drawn more towards pre-loved luxury goods. \n\nBut is this precisely what the luxury brands want?\nThis may be part of an overall reframing strategy to jettison a certain level of shopper and look for a higher spend from a smaller few, rather than seeking a larger number of sales from shoppers who are more likely to browse and contemplate for a long time before opening their wallets. \nI spoke to several store managers in luxury branded stores in the last week and asked if they noticed any significant price rises amongst their most popular product ranges and I did get an interesting response from one jewellery store in particular, carrying some of the top European jewellery brands mentioned in The Business of Fashion’s case study. \nThe response I was given by this particular manager was that the price increases were simply down to the design, rather than anything else. The implication being that the customer is paying additional costs for the years and years of expert design that have led up to the current day. \nIt’s hard to pinpoint what element of design is being spoken about, whether it’s the brainstorming from designers in head office or the crafting of the physical product itself. But this response did lead me to think that it was sort of a fancier way of saying “You are paying for the name of the brand” or a name tax for being able to show off the logo. \nThe Guardian posted an article, coincidentally on the same day as the case study, titled \nAn Amazing year for Rich People, \nwith emphasis on the fact that 141 new billionaires had been confirmed in 2024 so far. Quoting Forbes wealth editor Chase, Peterson-Withorn,\n“It’s been an amazing year for the world’s richest people, with more billionaires around the world than ever before. Even during times of financial uncertainty for many, the super-rich continue to thrive.”\nIn my last blog, I referenced author Steve Dennis’ work regarding the mid-market miasma and how the future of retail, both brick-and-mortar and online, will undoubtedly favour the ultra-high-end, and the super-low (or discount) end. His belief is that the unremarkable mid-market is the most vulnerable type of retailer at present. \nWith stores like Lidl, BJ’s Wholesale, and a variety of dollar-store chains doing exceptionally well in the United States of late (some with plans to open hundreds of new locations), it’s hard not to notice a lot of Dennis’ predictions coming to fruition. While discount chains may be seeking to open stores in every city and town they’re conceivably able to, luxury brands may want to target the flagship model, locating their stores in busy and iconic areas, to give their brands a semblance of ubiquity.\nRetail editor of the Times, Isabella Fish, only today published an article on retail insolvencies effecting 2,195 retail stores in the year until January 2024, with the likes of Ted Baker, The Body Shop, and Wilko. Isabella Fish quotes Mazars who have sited “Cautious household spending among consumers” to be the largest factor in the closure of these stores.\nLuxury brands may be deciding to collectively dig in their heels in the hope that their iconic names and long-established product lines will sell to a certain level of shopper who either don’t notice the price jumps or simply don’t care enough to notice. \n\n

Unveiling the luxury retail paradox: Dive into the shifting dynamics of pricing strategies, consumer spending, and the rise of discount and high-end markets

Do Luxury Brands Risk Alienating their ‘Aspirational’ Shoppers?

\n\nWe are delighted to announce this new partnership. SWL Group International are committed to continuously improving technologies and operations within retail organisations, and we are thrilled for VisionR to be a part of SWL's solutions and services from this day forward. \nSWL Group have been an innovator in workforce management solutions since the early 1990’s, assisting retailers in labour modelling, budgeting, and productivity benchmarking for sectors as disparate as FMCG, Electronics, Home and Design, and Quick Service Restaurant.\nAs retail advisors ourselves, we appreciate SWL’s bespoke approach to business strategy. With this partnership, VisionR’s plug-and-play shopper insights technology will become even more accessible to global retail teams through SWL’s suite of benefits.\nVisionR’s integration with SWL’s CX Solutions will enable retailers to gain an improved understanding of their customers’ in-store experience. Real-time, actionable shopper data will empower retailers to measure shopper activity, reduce inefficiencies and drive sales.\n\nI am thrilled about our partnership with SWL Group International. Our goal from day one has been to empower retailers with the actionable insights they need to drive brick-and-mortar success. We believe that the best way for us to achieve this is by combining our cutting-edge technology with SWL's 30+ years of retail knowledge and expertise. With our combined strengths, we will ensure that enterprise retailers continue to thrive in today's competitive market. 
⁠-\n \nOran Mulvey, VisionR Co-Founder\n\nThis is a very exciting collaboration that delivers unbelievable benefits to Retailers on their greatest mystery – the ‘in-store Customer’ and their ‘shopping habits’. With VisionR’s ground-breaking technology PLUS SWL’s unrivalled knowledge of Retail and Efficiency improvement – Retail Executives will now have new insights, data and actionable knowledge to take their Enterprise performance to a whole new level.\n
\n- \nMatthew Buckley – CEO, SWL Group International Ltd\n

VisionR partners with SWL Group to enhance retail technology, offering real-time shopper insights and improved customer experiences.

VisionR partnering with SWL Group International

\n\nThe Retail Excellence Ireland Awards are the biggest night of the year for Irish Retail and VisionR proudly sponsored the event, on what was the most well-attended awards show yet. The host Hector announced towards the end of the night that there were 550 attendees this year, which was a record, at the event now held in the vast ballroom of the Galmont Hotel and Spa in Galway City Centre. \n\nMyself\n and \nFarouq Ayofe\n represented VisionR, sharing a table with ambassadors from Ecco Shoes and \nTapCreative\n. There was excitement and elation at the table as one of the Ecco team, Maria Driscoll, won the Unsung Hero of the Year award, leading to us all standing up and congratulating her, jubilantly.\n\nThe award ceremony kicked off at 7pm and ended promptly at 11pm, with some great comedic set pieces from Hector Ó hEochagáin, including anecdotes on how he rushed from working in the Caribbean to be in Galway for the event, and an impromptu rave with several attendees he plucked from the audience. \nJean McCabe, the CEO at Retail Excellence was a delight, making sure to speak with as many attendees as possible in the ballroom and the foyer. Speeches were made from Fine Gael TD for Galway, Hildegard Naughton, on the difficulties the retail sector face from the recent government-announced budget. \n\n\nThe award I presented was for Jewellery Store of the Year, which went to \nStonechat Jewellers\n of Dublin 2. I handed the award to Ann Chapman, who brought her entire team with her up on stage to collect the award. The team were ecstatic and made the loudest collective cheer of the night, other than maybe the award for retailer of the year, which went to Diamond Furniture. \nWilliam Diamond was presented his award after a humorously long animated countdown on the large screen behind Hector. He very humbly accepted the award, placing a large amount of the credit to his team, who he said have overcome many challenges throughout the 25 years they’ve been in business. 
⁠\n\nThe chair of Retail Excellence Ireland commented that Diamond Furniture has consistently surprised and impressed the organization with their innovation, atmosphere, and desire to improve in all areas of their operations. \nOverall, it was an incredible evening, and we look forward to returning to the awards in 2025, where VisionR will hopefully be able to contribute positively to the occasion again. \n\n\n

VisionR at the Retail Excellence Ireland Awards 2024, celebrating Irish retail achievements and honoring standout winners in Galway.

VisionR Blog

VisionR at the NRF Big Show in New York, 2024

Do Luxury Brands Risk Alienating their ‘Aspirational’ Shoppers?

VisionR partnering with SWL Group International

VisionR at the Retail Excellence Ireland Awards 2024