Retail Accelerator XRC Labs Spotlights Startups and Industry Shifts

Image courtesy: Lorenzo Ciniglio, Jennifer Weisbord

The latest cohort of startups graduating from the XRC Labs accelerator represented the forefront of innovation in retail — from on-demand activewear manufacturing to indoor mapping services to artificially-intelligent visual search.

XRC Labs is a NYC-based accelerator program dedicated to helping retail and consumer goods companies build and launch products — and ideally forge relationships with established players. Companies in the accelerator are provided with workspace at Parsons School of Design, and are given access to capital, mentoring, and operational support.

In kicking off the demo day for the program’s third crop of companies, XRC Managing Director Pano Anthos discussed some of the trends he is seeing in the retail space, and what retailers must do to stay relevant.