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IBM's Watson Forecasts Trends and Products for Holiday Season
New Cognitive App Uncovers Consumer Preferences Behind Most Talked About Gifts
ARMONK, N.Y., Nov. 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today launched the IBM Watson Trend App, a new way for shoppers to understand the reasons behind the top trends of the holiday season and also predict the hottest products before they sell out. The app is available via a free download at the Apple App Store.
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The IBM Watson Trend app distills the sentiment of tens of millions of online conversations by scouring 10,000 sources across social media sites, blogs, forums, comments, ratings and reviews. Unlike other apps or lists that provide a static ranking of "hot" products, the Watson app reveals how consumers feel about the products they are considering or have purchased.
Using Watson's understanding of natural language and machine learning technologies, the app uncovers consumer preferences to pinpoint patterns and trends to reveal why people are choosing certain products or brands. The app also uses predictive analytics to forecast if a particular trend is a fleeting fad or will continue to remain strong.
To uncover insights behind the top holiday trends and products, Watson's natural language engine aggregates insights into distinct trend groups: content, context and sentiment. Each group is given a relative daily Trend Score, ranging from 0 to 100, based on the impact (size of the conversation) and the momentum (the rate of growth of the conversation).
Users can view the top 100 trending products and stories behind them across three categories - consumer electronics, toys and health and fitness. As of November 18, the top trends include:
-- Smartphone Photogs Drive Demand for Professional-Grade Cameras: While
smartphones users have one of the most powerful mobile cameras at their
fingertips, Watson finds consumers want more. Watson identified
standalone cameras like the Nikon D-SLR are the number one choice for
amateurs looking to take their photography to the next level due to
their greater depth and superior quality. Amateurs aren't the only ones
looking to upgrade, expert photographers are setting their sights on
Sony's 42 megapixel Alpha 7RII mirrorless camera that allows them to
record Ultra HD 4k video
-- Whether it's Star Wars or Lego City, Buy Now Before It's Too Late: The
new Star Wars movie, The Force Awakens, has helped make Lego Bricks the
"it" toy of the 2015 holiday season and it's likely that many will sell
out including the new Millennium Falcon set. However, according to
Watson in addition to Star Wars, two other sets will also likely sell
out this season: Lego City and Friends. As a result, shoppers should
take advantage of early Black Friday deals and make their purchases now.
Beyond chatter about impending product shortages, Watson finds that
adults and children alike are excited for the new Star Wars line while
other products such as Lego City are selling well among both boys and
girls, which reinforces the growing trend of gender-neutral toys.
-- Traditional Toys Go Back-to-School: According to Watson, Mattel's
connected-toy, Hello Barbie is at the top of parents' gift-giving lists
but it's no longer due to her sense of style. The new Hello Barbie
delivers an "engaging and unique play experience" by letting children
have a two-way conversation with Barbie. Parents specifically call out
the companion app feature that allows for parental control of all
conversations. Other "Edutainment" toys leading the pack, according to
Watson, include the new PAW Patrol Imagicard Learning Game (for LeapFrog
tablets).
-- Tis' the Season for Wearable Tech: When it comes to must-have tech
gifts, wearable accessories top wishlists for both gamers and movie
lovers. According to Watson, while excitement around Minecraft continues
to be strong, the social conversations aren't focused on the game itself
but the new Gameband, which allows people to play anywhere, on any
device. For movie-lovers, Watson identified excitement around the Oculus
Rift (OR), a virtual reality wearable that not only enhances the gaming
experience but can support made-for-OR movies.
As consumers use the IBM Watson Trend app to pinpoint what products are popular and why, IBM also reports on how consumers will shop for these gifts. With the Thanksgiving holiday just one week away, IBM predicts that, for the first time, more consumers will turn to their mobile devices than their desktop to seek out the best buys. Over the five-day holiday period, mobile traffic is expected to increase by nearly 57 percent, up 17 percent over 2014. Mobile sales are predicted to increase by more than 36 percent, up 34 percent over last year.
The Watson Trend App uses a combination of API capabilities from IBM's open Watson Developer platform including Sentiment Analysis, Keyword Extraction, Concept Tagging and Taxonomy Classification. In the future, IBM Watson Trend will continue to evolve with the addition of new capabilities including geographic and language data, and an increased level of personalization that caters to each consumer's unique interests and preferences.
IBM continues to add and stretch the boundaries of what Watson can do. The original Watson system was based on 1 natural language QA API, today the platform has over 30 APIs powered by over 50 underlying technologies to provide capabilities that span language, speech, vision, and data insights.
By sharing these capabilities via the Watson Developer Cloud, an open developer environment, a vibrant community of entrepreneurs, startups and established businesses are commercializing their own cognitive powered products and services to transform a variety of industries and disciplines including retail and customer service.
For more information or to download the IBM Watson Trend App, go to http://www.ibmwatsontrend.com
Lizette Kodama
IBM Media Relations
646-675-0750
Doug Fraim
IBM Media Relations
617-501-6376
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IBM
Web Site: http://ibm.com
IBM's Watson Forecasts Trends and Products for Holiday Season
New Cognitive App Uncovers Consumer Preferences Behind Most Talked About Gifts
ARMONK, N.Y., Nov. 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today launched the IBM Watson Trend App, a new way for shoppers to understand the reasons behind the top trends of the holiday season and also predict the hottest products before they sell out. The app is available via a free download at the Apple App Store.
https://photos.prnewswire.com/prnvar/20151118/288717
The IBM Watson Trend app distills the sentiment of tens of millions of online conversations by scouring 10,000 sources across social media sites, blogs, forums, comments, ratings and reviews. Unlike other apps or lists that provide a static ranking of "hot" products, the Watson app reveals how consumers feel about the products they are considering or have purchased.
Using Watson's understanding of natural language and machine learning technologies, the app uncovers consumer preferences to pinpoint patterns and trends to reveal why people are choosing certain products or brands. The app also uses predictive analytics to forecast if a particular trend is a fleeting fad or will continue to remain strong.
To uncover insights behind the top holiday trends and products, Watson's natural language engine aggregates insights into distinct trend groups: content, context and sentiment. Each group is given a relative daily Trend Score, ranging from 0 to 100, based on the impact (size of the conversation) and the momentum (the rate of growth of the conversation).
Users can view the top 100 trending products and stories behind them across three categories - consumer electronics, toys and health and fitness. As of November 18, the top trends include:
-- Smartphone Photogs Drive Demand for Professional-Grade Cameras: While
smartphones users have one of the most powerful mobile cameras at their
fingertips, Watson finds consumers want more. Watson identified
standalone cameras like the Nikon D-SLR are the number one choice for
amateurs looking to take their photography to the next level due to
their greater depth and superior quality. Amateurs aren't the only ones
looking to upgrade, expert photographers are setting their sights on
Sony's 42 megapixel Alpha 7RII mirrorless camera that allows them to
record Ultra HD 4k video
-- Whether it's Star Wars or Lego City, Buy Now Before It's Too Late: The
new Star Wars movie, The Force Awakens, has helped make Lego Bricks the
"it" toy of the 2015 holiday season and it's likely that many will sell
out including the new Millennium Falcon set. However, according to
Watson in addition to Star Wars, two other sets will also likely sell
out this season: Lego City and Friends. As a result, shoppers should
take advantage of early Black Friday deals and make their purchases now.
Beyond chatter about impending product shortages, Watson finds that
adults and children alike are excited for the new Star Wars line while
other products such as Lego City are selling well among both boys and
girls, which reinforces the growing trend of gender-neutral toys.
-- Traditional Toys Go Back-to-School: According to Watson, Mattel's
connected-toy, Hello Barbie is at the top of parents' gift-giving lists
but it's no longer due to her sense of style. The new Hello Barbie
delivers an "engaging and unique play experience" by letting children
have a two-way conversation with Barbie. Parents specifically call out
the companion app feature that allows for parental control of all
conversations. Other "Edutainment" toys leading the pack, according to
Watson, include the new PAW Patrol Imagicard Learning Game (for LeapFrog
tablets).
-- Tis' the Season for Wearable Tech: When it comes to must-have tech
gifts, wearable accessories top wishlists for both gamers and movie
lovers. According to Watson, while excitement around Minecraft continues
to be strong, the social conversations aren't focused on the game itself
but the new Gameband, which allows people to play anywhere, on any
device. For movie-lovers, Watson identified excitement around the Oculus
Rift (OR), a virtual reality wearable that not only enhances the gaming
experience but can support made-for-OR movies.
As consumers use the IBM Watson Trend app to pinpoint what products are popular and why, IBM also reports on how consumers will shop for these gifts. With the Thanksgiving holiday just one week away, IBM predicts that, for the first time, more consumers will turn to their mobile devices than their desktop to seek out the best buys. Over the five-day holiday period, mobile traffic is expected to increase by nearly 57 percent, up 17 percent over 2014. Mobile sales are predicted to increase by more than 36 percent, up 34 percent over last year.
The Watson Trend App uses a combination of API capabilities from IBM's open Watson Developer platform including Sentiment Analysis, Keyword Extraction, Concept Tagging and Taxonomy Classification. In the future, IBM Watson Trend will continue to evolve with the addition of new capabilities including geographic and language data, and an increased level of personalization that caters to each consumer's unique interests and preferences.
IBM continues to add and stretch the boundaries of what Watson can do. The original Watson system was based on 1 natural language QA API, today the platform has over 30 APIs powered by over 50 underlying technologies to provide capabilities that span language, speech, vision, and data insights.
By sharing these capabilities via the Watson Developer Cloud, an open developer environment, a vibrant community of entrepreneurs, startups and established businesses are commercializing their own cognitive powered products and services to transform a variety of industries and disciplines including retail and customer service.
For more information or to download the IBM Watson Trend App, go to http://www.ibmwatsontrend.com
Lizette Kodama
IBM Media Relations
646-675-0750
Doug Fraim
IBM Media Relations
617-501-6376
https://photos.prnewswire.com/prnvar/20151118/288718
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnvar/20090416/IBMLOGO
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Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151118/288718
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SOURCE IBM
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Photo:https://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151118/288718
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Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO
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Photo:https://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151118/288717
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Photo:https://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151118/288718
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Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO
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IBM
Web Site: http://ibm.com