Verizon Business Backs Retailers With Electronic Shelf Labels, Digital Wayfinding, and Robotics

Verizon has made a name for itself in the communications space, having grown in size and influence to become the largest wireless carrier in the United States.

During a recent interview conducted by RetailWire’s Lavina Suthenthiran at the 2025 NRF Big Show in New York City, Verizon Business exec Mark Tina outlined the latest retail innovations being promoted by his company.

Verizon Business Working in Tandem With Retailers To Promote New Technologies, Frictionless Shopping

Tina, who serves as channel chief and VP of indirect partner sales at Verizon Business, was quick to point out that the fundamental backbone of much of the tech-enhanced retail experiences of today and tomorrow relied heavily on his company’s network infrastructure.

“So we’re excited to, first and foremost, show off our networking capabilities. As you know, Verizon is a world-class leader in networks, and we’ve got world-class 4G and 5G networks that our retailers are taking advantage of,” Tina said.

“We’re also showcasing our private networks, and how the two come together in order for our SMB customers — and our enterprise-grade national retail customers — to come together and take advantage of,” he added.

Among the particular technologies that Verizon Business was promoting at the conference: immersive digital wayfinding, in-store robotics, and electronic price labels.

Immersive Wayfinding, Robotics, and Electronic Labels Help Shape a Positive Customer Experience

Tina emphasized the evolving nature of physical retail shopping, using the technology on hand at the Verizon Business booth to make his case.

“We’re trying to take the friction out of the shopping experience. So when you think about going to a store, whether it’s small or large, these types of technologies help the customers to know where to go in the store and provide on-the-spot information — whether it’s nutritional labels or facts about things, promotional pricing, etc.,” he said.

“When you mention robotics, it helps our retailers to be able to better stock inventory and take better advantage of the supply chain. The electronic labels allow for real-time changes on pricing… really changing the experience that a shopper has in any retail outlet across the country,” Tina continued.

Cybersecurity Is a Must for Retailers in the Age of AI

When prompted to answer a question regarding tech trends in retail, particularly AI, and how businesses can remain competitive, Tina was quick to jump in with his thoughts.

“A retailer really, truly needs to invest in a secure network. Cybersecurity has become more and more important in our industry, and so any technology that you’re going to implement needs to be secure from end to end — whether it’s the point of sale device that’s taking payment through the supply chain, any kind of data needs to be protected… Security needs to be inherent,” Tina stated.

“It’s also things like AI being utilized the right way. A year or two ago, I think people were talking about AI as something fancy… Now it has manifested, and it’s about taking the analytical insights that we gain through AI and then making more informed, better business decisions moving forward. So it’s kind of [about] that democratization of sophisticated technology and making it usable for our retailers — again, both small business as well as enterprise-grade,” he concluded.