IBM Watson will tell you how to get around your local Macy's
At Macy's, you'll soon be able to avoid total human interaction whether you're shopping online or in the store.
The retailer is piloting a web tool powered by IBM Watson, the computing system of Jeopardy! fame, and Satisfi, an intelligent engagement platform.
This will be the first time Watson has been used in a in-store retail setting. The computing system, which analyzes vast amounts of data, is already giving health advice at CVS and offering cooking tips.
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Macy's customers will be able to open Macy's On Call at macys.com/storehelp in a mobile browser to ask Watson questions they'd normally ask a sales representative. The service will be available in both English and Spanish. After the test period, the chain will decide whether to add the service to its Macy's app.
The deal underscores efforts by retailers to use technology and the ubiquity of smartphones to create a better in-store shopping experience. Mobile analysis firm DMI found that 70 percent of U.S. shoppers said they used their phones while shopping.
The service will be customized by location to tell customers where the shoe department is in a particular store, or whether that branch has a certain size in stock.
For now, the service is available in 10 test locations, including Bethesda, Md., Woodbridge, N.J., Portland, Ore. and Miami, Fla.
Everywhere else, you'll still have to find the shoe section without Watson's help.
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Emma Hinchliffe is a business reporter at Mashable. Before joining Mashable, she covered business and metro news at the Houston Chronicle.
