The Internet of Things has us thinking in new ways. It’s impossible not to laugh at some of these new ways of thinking. Maybe the laugh is because the idea is silly. But it’s kind of fun being silly, and retail could certainly use a technological draw that gets people in stores.

Boring Chores (and Jobs) Carted Off

More than a gimmick, self-driving carts could return abandoned inventory, pick up and return packages as well as monitor stock. These are tasks that Walmart says will lead to a lot of employee turnover. Walmart has already announced it’s half a year away from using drones to track inventory in warehouses to replaces quality assurance managers. The Internet of Things is factoring in a lot of problem-solving at Walmart.

Tracking Abilities

Besides being fun and taking care of some menial tasks, self-driving carts could track consumer behavior at the store level. You could tell how much time people spend deciding certain purchases as well as how they move through their shopping. Being able to track how people shop when they can actually touch and see merchandise could give Walmart a big advantage.

The Internet of Things is going to solve a lot of problems for a lot of companies. The first wave is already rolling in. In the next five years we can expect to see much greater adoption. From ideas that seem revolutionary to ones that leave you with a wry smile. It should be fun; if you’re a growing company you will want to be dealt in.

About NextGen

NextGen is the brainchild of longtime telecom professionals with nearly 50 years of experience and millions of dollars in Telecom Recruiting Services. We focus on establishing long term relationships with our clients and candidates so we can recruit the best and the brightest in the telecom industry. This ‘quality over quantity’ approach is at the heart of everything we do and has resulted in successful job placements at Fortune 1000 firms worldwide.