ST. PETE BEACH — With retail sales consistently on the mend, 40 top national chain store executives on Friday turned to their industry's next wild ride.
"Except for a few economic storm clouds, the worst is over," said Steve Sadove, chief executive officer of Saks Inc. "We feel good about the luxury business long term again and applying new technology to sell to customers anywhere, anytime and any way they want."
That could be online in 3D. HD browsers over a keypad that's just a projection. A smart phone that doubles as a credit card and can summon a clerk. Or some type of social media like Facebook that has not surfaced yet.
Such visions have dangled in front of retailers for 20 years. But now the speed, miniaturization and storage capacity of computer power is accelerating fast enough to make it happen within five years, experts told executives gathered at the annual Global Retail Marketing Association leadership forum at the Don CeSar Beach Resort.
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