JDA Software taps into Google Cloud for latest 'store of the future' tech

The National Retail Federation's 2017 Big Show conference kicks off next week and so far the early news is echoing some familiar trends surrounding smart stores, inventory insight and customer personalization.

For instance, JDA, which powers a bevy of retailers with its software, announced Tuesday that it's relying on Google Cloud for its customers' digital turn.

JDA's new store optimizer technology aims to combine cloud and IoT technology to connect disparate data streams from merchandising and inventory to help reduce out of stock issues and better equip associates.

In the same vein, JDA's SaaS-based Retail.me product taps into Google Cloud to leverage data science and artificial intelligence for insights into buying behaviors across customer segments.

According to JDA, the platform mines point-of-sale (POS) and shopper data including purchase history, timing, frequency, and place in order to optimize inventory and maximize sales margins. The platform also lets retailers push personalized offers across channels and use real-time data to improve shipping and logistics.

While JDA's software news isn't technologically groundbreaking, the Google Cloud aspect is interesting because it shows how Google is getting its AI knowhow in the field and is priming as a platform that big SaaS providers can build on.

In other early NRF announcements, Posiflex and Elo are rolling out new POS and mPOS systems with expanded functionality. POS systems often go unnoticed by consumers, but the technology is critical in the most basic of ways and obviously facilitates payment acceptance. The new wave of POS devices released over the last few years have tried to incorporate more consumer-grade interfaces, software support, and cloud and data capabilities.