From The Editor

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By Matt Pillar, editor in chief

In the NRF 2011 Resource Center at www.retailsolutionsonline.com, we've compiled hundreds of the biggest news releases, stories, and resources to come out of the 100th anniversary BIG Show.

At the close of each day at the massive and fast-paced NRF BIG Show, I'm reminded of a conversation I had with IHL president and respected industry analyst Greg Buzek several years ago when I began covering the retail industry. As we wove through the streets of New York on the shuttle bus back to Times Square, I asked him what got his attention on the show floor that day. He replied, "I'm sure I saw sixteen things today that will change the face of retailing as we know it, but I can't remember a single one of them right now." I remember feeling relieved that I wasn't the only one bowled over by information overload at NRF. If one of the smartest of the 20,000 people at the show needed some time to digest the day's events, perhaps there was hope for me.

Fortunately, there are many resources available to those of us who need to refresh our memories. Our NRF 2011 Resource Center is a great place to start. We've compiled hundreds of the biggest news releases, stories, and resources to come out of the show. Here are notes on and links to a few of the stories I found most interesting:

• IBM gathered wide-reaching insight on shopping habits, tech usage, and spending plans from a survey of more than 30,000 consumers. We'll be featuring data from the survey in our upcoming special report on retail mobility, to be published in Integrated Solutions For Retailers in March.
• Fujitsu and Kroger are working on the next generation of self-checkout and demonstrated it at NRF. Their new approach is allegedly faster and addresses shrink and scanning accuracy concerns.
• Like the concept or not, DT Research took a bold leap toward tablet-based POS by releasing a tablet with an encrypted PIN pad and MSR. While many question the application security and device management challenges of tablets for POS, it appears its time is coming quickly.
• The Container Store and Urban Outfitters executives were recognized by the NRF with Gold Medal and Innovator Awards, the federation's highest accolades.
• Microsoft and Intel are working together on some amazing interactive display projects. I got to see them and interact with them first hand at the show, but you can read about it here.
• RedPrairie continues to build its retail technology footprint with the acquisition of SofTechnics, one of the biggest pieces of news announced at the show.

There's plenty more news from the retail community in this special edition newsletter and at www.retailsolutionsonline.com. Also be sure to check out the winners of our Datamax-O'Neil-sponsored iPod Touch giveaway. And if you have a minute, shoot me an e-mail (matt.pillar@jamesonpublishing.com) and let me know what caught your eye at this year's show.