Microsoft and Windows 10 are changing the way we shop

Remember Microsoft’s ambition of Windows 10 everywhere? How can you not, it’s the company’s mantra for its operating system, repeated ad nauseam with marketing materials. There have been signs of it coming to fruition, with Windows 10 treading the more familiar space like laptop and phones, and Microsoft’s own innovative hardware like the Xbox and HoloLens.

Microsoft looks to be taking it to the next level with partnerships at the National Retail Federation’s Big Show 2016 (NRF) in New York City this week, announces Microsoft blog and the Windows blog. Windows 10 may becomes much more visible in our shopping experience very soon.

Specifically, Microsoft is set to unveil several new retail solutions that will bring to life customer experience, combining the ease of online shopping and in-store levels of service using machine. This is achieved by using a combination of Microsoft’s cloud prowess with Azure, machine learning, analytics, and close integration between differently Microsoft’s solutions.

Several companies and Microsoft customers have jumped on the bandwagon for this year’s show, including Macy’s, L’Oréal Paris, Mondelēz International Inc.(makers of Oreos in case you don’t know), Telstra, Virgin Atlantic and more. Mondelēz International Inc., for example, is building a Diji-touch machine – basically an advanced Windows 10, Kinect and Azure IoT-powered vending machine with a huge touch screen for buttons and some futuristic buying options: add to cart, display ingredient and nutritional info, and a wide range of payment options.

Virgin Atlantic is another interesting example of enhancing the sales process with Microsoft technology. The company partnered with Microsoft to build “an immersive digital business adventure”, or “Ida,” which showcase just how awesome its luxurious business travel option is, in an interactive, mobile-friendly way that salespeople can use to woo customers.

A new Windows 10 Point of Sale (POS) solution demo will also be unveiled at the event, showing how stationary workstations into interactive sales experiences with the power of Windows 10, specifically, Windows Hello, Continuum and more.

Besides retailers’ implementation of currently available technologies, Microsoft is also showcasing a host of new technologies, either in test development of is coming out soon. This includes intelligent LED lighting system ByteLight, an in-store shopper data solution using Kinect, invisible barcodes, and payment solution FreedomPay. Catch these exciting new retail experiences powered by Microsoft at NRF this week in booth 2083.