CES 2023 Day Two: Deborah Weinswig Presents Key Opportunities for Retailers in the Face of Brisk Headwinds

Introduction

The Coresight Research team is attending CES (formerly the Consumer Electronics Show), hosted by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) in Las Vegas from January 3, 2023, with the exhibits running during January 5–8, 2023. The event brings together technology vendors, innovators, retailers and people from around the world to get an early look at key consumer electronics trends in the new year. The scope of CES has expanded in recent years beyond electronic gadgets to encompass new areas such as healthcare, wearable devices and mobility. This year, the show has a strong metaverse focus.

In this report, we present insights from the second day on January 6, 2023, as well as other highlights from across the event so far.

CES 2023 Day Two: Coresight Research Insights

1. Solving Retail’s Biggest Challenges: Five Opportunities for Retailers in 2023 

Deborah Weinswig, CEO and Founder of Coresight Research, participated in a panel entitled “Solving Retail’s Biggest Challenges,” presenting five opportunities for retailers in the face of brisk headwinds in 2023. Other panel participants were Adam Gam, CMO at Perfect Corp; Lindsey Hermes, Global Commercial Director, Digital Solutions at Avery Dennison; Mark Stutzman, CTO at Area15; and Bala Visalatha, SVP and Chief Product Officer at Walgreens.

Weinswig discussed the Coresight Research RESET framework, which details five trends for retailers to respond to short-term consumer needs while securing longer-term success, placing the consumer at the center. The framework calls for retailers to be responsive, engaging, socially responsible, expansive and tech-enabled.

• Responsive: Weinswig explained that retailers need to be responsive to accelerated structured frugality, with economic challenges driving a “discount-store decade” as discount stores have dominated store openings in the last 10 years. This requires businesses to reconsider non-core costs, such as shrink and GNFR (goods not for resale).
• Engaging: Weinswig recommended that retailers drive consumer engagement across physical and digital retail by leveraging the Coresight Research BEST framework for retail excellence (covering brand building, experiences, technology integration and services) and experimenting with livestreaming and social commerce to foster loyalty. Benefits of livestreaming include engaged consumers, lower returns rates and high conversion rates. In addition, by renewing the physical store, retailers can reduce checkout friction and enhance product discovery and engagement, Weinswig emphasized.
• Socially Responsible: The Coresight Research EnCORE framework provides a model through which retailers can begin to internalize a sustainability strategy, which Weinswig highlighted is key to the expectations of today’s consumers—the pandemic has made environmental sustainability more of a factor when shopping for almost one-third of US consumers, according to Coresight Research surveys conducted in 2020, 2021 and 2022. There is a clear opportunity for brands and retailers to adopt sustainable commerce practices, such as recommerce, to attract more conscious consumers through brand values. Retailers should also improve their management of returns to increase sustainability, drive topline expansion and enhance margins.
• Expansive: Weinswig recommended that retailers pursue alternative revenue streams through offering retail-adjacent services, such as retail media, paid memberships and data for sale. Coresight Research estimates that retailers can generate $1–5 million in revenue from media and shopper insights for every $1 billion in revenue.
• Tech-Enabled: Retailers should invest in tech-enabled solutions to increase productivity. For example, retailers can leverage prescriptive analytics, which can improve the management of inventory and assortment, enhance customer service, optimize staffing, reduce markdowns and reduce shrink.

 

2. BMW Unveils New Intelligent Concept Car

Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Directors at automotive manufacturer BMW, discussed the future of mobility, which BMW believes will be electric, circular and digital. To achieve this, BMW aims to tear down the boundaries between the real and virtual worlds. 

BMW unveiled its BMW i Vision Dee concept car, with “Dee” standing for “digital emotional experience.” The concept car is designed as the “ultimate companion,” presenting next-level human-machine interaction, according to BMW. The car features intelligent assistance and a large head-up display. It also has a mixed-reality (MR) slider with four levels, which displays navigation and communication information on the windshield.

Actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has partnered with BMW, made an appearance on stage with Zipse to present a second version of the i Vision Dee concept car, which is a color-changing car that can transition between 32 shades.

 

3. Delta To Launch Free Wi-Fi and Delta Sync Program 

Talking to Michael Kassan, CEO of MediaLink, at the CES C-Space Keynote on January 5, 2023, Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta, discussed how the airline’s latest tech innovations are bringing connection and community. Bastian made a major announcement that there will be free Wi-Fi across the entire company available to everyone at every seat from February 1, 2023, with 80% of the system turned on immediately and all international and regional planes turned on by the end of 2024. Delta has invested $1 billion in this initiative. 

Bastian also discussed Delta’s launch of Delta Sync this year, which is a collection of free, in-flight entertainment. Content is provided through Delta’s partnerships with American Express, Paramount+, Resy, T-Mobile and The New York Times Games. Bastian added that backseat entertainment will be replaced with smart screens, which will enhance personalized offerings on Delta flights.

 

4. Qualcomm Unveils New Chipsets for Autonomous Vehicles

At CES, technology corporation Qualcomm has unveiled its new Snapdragon Ride Flex product, discussed its partnership with Salesforce to design a platform to improve the customer experience, and provided the industry with updates on its Snapdragon Ride platforms.

• Snapdragon Ride Flex is the first scalable automotive system-on-a-chip (SoC) product. It supports a digital cockpit, with multiple displays, 3D navigation, personalization and voice assistance. The Flex SoC also supports advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), which include features such as automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assist as well as automated driving (AD), which can be used for highway autopilot and urban driving.
• Qualcomm and Salesforce have teamed up to design a platform that will improve the customer experience and achieve alternative revenue channels. The platform will leverage connected vehicle and drive data to deliver intelligent personalized offerings.
• The first generation of Snapdragon Ride platforms, which deliver ADAS and AD solutions, is currently deployed in commercial vehicles globally. The product is the only open, customizable and scalable solution on the market for ADAS/AD, according to Qualcomm.

5. Israeli Startups Present Solutions To Enhance Metaverse Experiences

The Israeli Export Institute and Economic Mission to the West Coast organized 23 Israeli startups to be present in Eureka Park at CES 2023. Below, we highlight six startups seen at the Israeli Pavilion. See our coverage of CES 2023 Day One for more. 

Eyeminders

Eyeminders provides AI (artificial intelligence)-based emotional detection software, which analyzes a person’s eyes. The company’s technology can monitor for cybersickness, interest, engagement and more. It uses this detected information to improve a user’s AR/VR/XR (augmented, virtual and extended reality) experiences in the metaverse. As cybersickness affects 36%–66% of AR/VR/XR users, according to Dr. Daphna Palti-Wasserman, Founder and CEO of Eyeminders, this will be particularly important with increased user adoption of headsets.

 

iRomaScents Digital Scent Generator by iRomaScents

The iRomaScents Digital Scent Generator enables scented entertainment, such as movies and commercials. It also enables digital purchases of fragrances. The wireless product operates by releasing a dose of scent on demand or in sync with entertainment, such as a video.

 

Olive KG Device by Olive Diagnostics

Olive Diagnostic’s non-invasive urine diagnostic Olive KG device uses a cloud-based AI system to detect molecules and markers used to identify conditions such as early onset of UTIs (urinary tract infections), kidney disease and diabetes. The device can be mounted to the inside of a toilet and continuously gathers and analyzes data, automatically alerting users to any anomalies.

 

Oorym

Oorym leverages waveguide technology to develop revolutionary AR lenses. According to the company, its technology solutions address current problems with waveguide technology, including low brightness, image quality, limited field of view, bulkiness and cost.

 

SparX

SparX’s home-staging platform leverages AI, AR and VR to create customized visualizations of an empty space by simply creating a profile, scanning a space and virtually furnishing it with personalized furniture picks.

 

Visionary.AI

Visionary.AI develops AI technology to improve video image enhancement. The software solutions leverage an image signal processor to enhance images, reduce image noise and enable full-color night vision in real time.