News roundup: Cassini, pecan pies, a strange retail future
IBM’s take on this week in news
This week:
- Transmitting Cassini’s amazing images required a stellar network
- Pecan pie supply gets hurricane disruption
- The strange, alluring future of retail stores
By the numbers:
Transmitting Cassini’s amazing images required a stellar network
While NASA’s probe went out in a blaze of glory on Saturn last week, its scientific discoveries will continue to change our view of the solar system.
Cassini provided a treasure trove of data and more than 453,000 images during its 13-year orbit of Saturn.[1] It revealed storms powerful enough to blow away Earth’s entire atmosphere and showed Earth-like oceans on the planet’s moons.
Just as the video of the moon landing nearly 50 years ago inspired a generation, Cassini’s high definition images and video of the universe have galvanized today’s scientists.
But getting awe-inspiring imagery from Saturn wasn’t simple. NASA engineers have spent more than a decade building a system for transmitting high-definition images from space to Earth. To reinvent their network, the agency enlisted cloud computing companies that can compress, process and deliver massive amounts of data from space.
Figuring out how to send and receive communications from millions of miles away is critical to the future of space exploration. NASA must continue to evolve its network as it navigates new frontiers.
Hurricane Irma disrupts the world’s pecan supply chain
Hurricane Irma may be behind us, but repercussions of the storm’s destruction will continue to resonate through supply chains for a long time to come. Consumers may even feel the ripple effect at Thanksgiving dinner this year, especially if they’re lovers of pecan pie.
Why? According to Bloomberg News[2], America’s pecan supply took a severe beating during the storm. Georgia is the biggest U.S. grower of the nut, and just a few weeks before harvest time Irma’s strong winds wrecked scores of trees in the state’s orchards. Up to 30 percent of production may be lost.
Frozen pecan stockpiles at the end of July were higher than a year ago, which could make up for some of the damage done to the national supply. But Irma’s devastation will likely still result in higher pie prices this year, and those prices could carry on into 2018.
Pecan pies may be a staple of America’s Thanksgiving holiday, but pecans are popular around the world. More than half of Georgia’s pecans are shipped overseas, which means Irma’s impact on the pecan industry will be felt globally.
Bad weather in one part of the world can affect an entire supply chain, which is why more companies — including makers of baked goods — are relying on data and analytics to help keep business running smoothly at all times. Pecan pie, it turns out, may be best served with a side of AI.
Weather events can cause huge devastation for people and businesses alike. IBM is proudly supporting relief efforts through organizations including the American Red Cross. Our company has pledged $4 million to help people rebuild from hurricanes Harvey and Irma.[3]
The strange future of retail: selling experiences instead of stuff
A clothing store with no clothes? Sounds like an oxymoron, but Nordstrom’s is opening a small concept store next month that fits the bill. It will offer manicures, on-site tailoring and other services. But good luck finding a new shirt or a pair of pants there.
Nordstrom’s isn’t the only retailer reimagining its brick and mortar stores. Apple, for example, envisions its stores as gathering places where people hone their passions by taking classes on coding, music, and photography.
“We actually don’t call them stores anymore,” Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendt announced last week in Cupertino, California [4]. “We call them town squares, because they’re gathering places for the 500 million people who visit us every year.”
Is that branding babble — or part of a larger trend of retailers determining how to best use their physical stores to attract customers? Stores are focusing on how customers feel to provide a unique offline experience.
But is it an effective strategy? A recent IBM study, Uniquely Gen Z, found that 67 percent of Generation Z consumers shop in brick and mortar stores most of the time, while 31 percent of consumers sometimes shop in-store. Despite living a predominately digital life, Generation Z prefers to shop in physical stores.
“Generation Z expects technology to be intuitive, relevant and engaging —their last great experience is their new expectation,” said IBM General Manager of Global Consumer Industries Steve Laughlin.[5]
Keeping that in mind, retailers must find the right formula to consistently provide the interactive engagement and hands-on experience that consumers now desire.
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[1] https://www.space.com/38164-cassini-saturn-by-the-numbers.html
[2]http://www.nola.com/food/index.ssf/2017/09/hurricane_irma_puts_thanksgivi.html
[3] http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/11/news/companies/corporate-donations-hurricane-relief/index.html
[4] https://slate.com/business/2017/09/apple-stores-are-called-town-squares-now.html
[5] http://www.businessinsider.com/study-generation-z-shoppers-prefer-physical-retail-stores-to-online-shopping-2017-1
