These are five questions we posed to Beck Besecker, CEO & Co-Founder of 3D Cloud by Marxent, on retail technology 2023

Which of the trendiest retail innovations, such as free shops, speedy delivery services, the metaverse and non-fungible tokens, automation and robots, and blockchain technology, stands out to you, and why?

Self-service (facilitated by automation and AI) is dominating our engagements with customers and prospects.

Self-service tools enable retailers to offer services that were previously only available in-store.

Common use cases include product configuration (changing materials and finishes), room planning for complicated product categories such as furniture, kitchen, and bath, and augmented reality, in which consumers evaluate whether a product would fit in their area.

Which retail technology trend, in your opinion, is overrated?

BB: Conversations on the metaverse have cooled tremendously, despite the fact that it had a brief period of popularity and sparked a great deal of curiosity. The majority of implementations we observed on the market were more focused on marketing and public relations than on sustainable use cases.

What are the top five social media accounts for retail technology that you cannot live without, and why?

BB: Of course, RTIH.

The Remarkable Retail podcast, presented by Steve Dennis, and the Omnitalk podcast, hosted by Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga, are also available.

If you could have dinner with any five retail pioneers, living or dead, who would you invite and why?

BB: Jeff Bezos – We have inherited Jeff’s unwavering commitment to helping customers, rather than worrying about what other merchants or rivals are doing, and it has served us well.

I would appreciate the chance to discuss our purpose with Jeff and get his unique perspective on our company.

Suresh Kumar, Walmart’s CTO, has witnessed everything. He began his career at IBM, rose through the ranks at Amazon, spent time at Microsoft and Google, and is currently in charge of Walmart’s digital and innovation initiatives.

Unlike working for a digital native, working for a conventional merchant requires the ability to handle relationships and create trust. His ability to filter out distractions concentrate talent, and scale invention is remarkable.

RTIH: What does it mean to you to be a 2022 RTIH Innovation Award winner?

The award acknowledged the hard work and dedication of our partners and the 3D Cloud by the Marxent team in executing a genuinely breakthrough retail technology initiative at scale.

There is a significant difference between purchasing software and successfully distributing it throughout a business.

The B&Q crew is always deliberate and intentional in their actions. Their dedication to the project’s success remains unwavering, and we have been with them every step of the way.