ConsumerIT - For Europe's High Volume PC Retailers, Distributors & Builders

In my DISTREE XXL keynote in Monaco, I share several entertaining stories about retail and brand experience.

Without ruining the surprises in the talk, here are some of the topics included...

First, the man who invented the STOP sign has a lesson for all of us. Next, off to the Middle East where you'll meet THE MAN WHO DIDN'T KNOW HE HAD A BRAND. Then a discussion of B8TA's significant new retail approach and the beginning of their international expansion.

Buffalo launches a range of external SSDs promising to be both tough and tiny-- the SSD-PSMU3, miniature storage devices measuring just 33 x 9.5x 59.5mm and designed to comply with the MIL-STD 810G 516.6 Procedure IV drop test.

According to the company, the SSDs were tested to survive six face drop tests, eight corner drop tests and 12 edge drop tests, all from a height of around 1.2m. Passing the test means the drives remain in working condition and suffer no physical or internal damage. Buffalo also promises data secure, with SecureLock Mobile2 technology encoding data using an AES-256 key and a SMART function to predict storage component failure.

Back in 2016 Amazon debuted "Amazon Go," a futuristic challenge to traditional brick-and-mortar retail featuring no cash registers and associated queues. Now the technology is available for licensing, and the online giant has already signed deals with "several" retailers.

Dubbed Just Walk Out, the service brings all the capabilities of the checkout-free Amazon Go retail chain to any retailer-- for a price, of course. As the company tells Reuters, the technology has "broad applicability across store sizes, across industries," since it brings convenience to customers hard-pressed for time. Amazon will also install all technology, such as ceiling cameras and shelf weight sensors, in the retail location, and offers a 24-7 support line.

The global PC monitor market is up by 5% Y-o-Y in Q4 2019, IDC reports, as shipments exceed analyst expectations by reaching "just over" 33.2 million units, a number last exceeded back in Q4 2014.

Monitors also did well in full-year 2019, as shipments are up by 1.5%. Boosting such monitor momentum is the business segment, with device refresh projects further consolidating the market. In fact, the top 3 vendors-- Dell, HP and TPV-- hold nearly 50% of the 2019 market. Other factors further helped the market, including the increase in monitor sizes (23.8-inch screens overtook the 21.5-inch) and strong gaming monitor adoption.