My NRF2018 retail demo awards roundup – from annoyingly smart fridges to self-powered pop-up shops
By Jon Reed of Diginomica - January 29, 2018
The massive NRF 2018 exhibit hall was a bustling mix of nifty demos, vigorous foot traffic, and hyperbolic brand marketing. Amidst that backdrop, I kicked tires on numerous demos. Some were worthwhile, others not so much.
With that in mind, here are my first annual/entirely subjective demo awards. But hold up: What constitutes an effective retail demo?
My answer: it can be futuristic, it can be analytical, it can be ruthlessly practical – but I place weight on functionality that retailers – or their customers – can use today. I don’t care about how “disruptive” it is. If it’s easy to use and install, that carries more weight than “disruptive paradigm shifts.”