Article
5G has arrived, promising to revolutionize retail
5G technology promises to make it easier for retailers to access cloud technology, and to enable faster development of both business and consumer services.
February 20, 2019 by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times
Many types of businesses, not just retailers, need to stay on top of 5G, a connectivity technology that promises to enable faster data transfer speed. Autonomous cars, "smart" cities, education and industrial IoT will all rely on 5G technology.
But retailers are likely to be among the most affected since 5G, which is currently rolling out, is expected to unleash a wealth of innovation to retail commerce, according to a panel during the Hi-Tech Retail Summit at the CES show in Las Vegas.
5G promises to make it easier for businesses to access cloud technology, and to enable faster development of both business and consumer services.
"This year's going to be all about 5G," said panel moderator Dan Tynan, a journalist at Improbable Ventures.
It's already here
Panelist Justin Blair, Verizon Wireless executive director of global business products and global products, said Verizon launched its first 5G products in the fall — ultra wide band, offering higher speed bandwidth.
5G's two top benefits are high speed and low latency, explained Blair. Latency refers to a network's ability to process a high volume of data with minimal delay. Low latency keeps the price down by offloading phone memory to the cloud, as noted during a session at last year's CES show.
Consumers using a 5G smartphones will be able to interact with products in stores via augmented reality, Blair said. "You could try to do that today, but it's slow," he said. "5G will open that up."
"Video on 5G will unlock new use cases," he added, such as inventory management in real time with video, thanks to the improved latency.
The technology not only benefits smartphones, but fixed wireless access and mixed reality headsets.
"It opens up new ways of thinking about your retail infrastructure and not being tied to a wired circuit," Blair said.
New efficiencies for consumers
"As 5G becomes more pervasive throughout our society, you'll find more and more devices are connecting to each other and talking to each other and creating these efficiencies in our lives as consumers, as well as for businesses," said panelist Amelia Powell, 5G program marketing manager at Verizon Wireless. "Ultimately, 5G is the tool that we're bringing to the table for all you smart people to innovate against."
Powell pointed to pop up shops as a retail format offering new products in new spaces. "Now (with 5G) you have the capability of bringing a point-of-sale system and putting it in places and ways where it would formerly be really difficult," she said.
"In retail, you have an opportunity to really follow the products from the inception, when they're manufactured, all the way through the ecosystems, to make sure there is a really good opportunity to keep your customers involved and interested in their products as they come to market," she added.
With omnichannel retailing, retailers need to be able to link their inventory across different channels, Powell noted. 5G will also make it possible to provide consumers more, timelier information about products.
It will also be easier to allow consumers access to recent product reviews.
"Through 5G, you have a better opportunity to leverage the data that's already out there in the (retail) universe," she said. "You can bring it right to your consumers at the point of sale, and even leverage things like video that are creative and new."
"It's basically unleashing your potential as retailers to use the technology that exists in the world and really innovate against it."
Verizon challenges innovators: $1 million at stake
Powell reminded the audience of the "Built On 5G Challenge" that Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg announced during a CES keynote: Innovators will have a chance to win up to $1 million and gain access to Verizon's 5G Labs.
Vestberg placed the challenge to encourage people to innovate with 5G.
Up to $1 million in total grant funding will be awarded to winning innovators to develop their concepts on live 5G networks located at Verizon's 5G New York Lab, 5G Waltham Lab, 5G Cambridge Lab, and locations being developed in Los Angeles, Palo Alto, California, and Washington, D.C. In addition, Verizon 5G Labs technical advisors will provide training and support to winning innovators.
Asked what verticals will be most affected by 5G, Powell said there is lot of work being done with 5G in developing "smart" cities, but it's hard to say what verticals will benefit the most.
About Elliot Maras
Elliot Maras is the editor of Kiosk Marketplace and Vending Times. He brings three decades covering unattended retail and commercial foodservice.
Related Media
Subscribe
Get the latest news and resources from Kiosk Marketplace.
