Smartwatch ownership may start to hit some respectable numbers. Nine percent of U.S. adults own a smartwatch, an increase of almost 2% from just six months ago. However, 60% smartwatch ownership growth is projected by the end of next year, according to a new projection.

Many retailers are keeping an eye on emerging technologies. There was plenty of that tech on display at the annual eTail East conference in Boston this week. Following investments in a few areas such as real-time marketing, retailers are looking at chatbots, IoT technology and beacons, based on a study released to coincide with the event.

Having been around since forever, A/B testing may not be fading away, but thanks to advances in artificial intelligence, it may be moving more to the back of the line. At the annual eTail East conference and exhibition in Boston this week, the exhibition hall was filled with companies promoting countless versions of data analytics, customer targeting and, most prominently, various promises of AI-driven results. One of the standouts, with some solid AI conversion case studies, was San Francisco based Sentient, a 10-year-old AI company that uses a branch of artificial intelligence called evolutionary algorithms.

Smart speakers can be used for a number of things, but not yet high on the list is controlling other home devices. Around 7 million smart speakers shipped last year, positioning the devices as a potential new home hub of smart devices, ultimately replacing smartphones and tablets for that activity. However, at least in the short run, that's not what people are using their Amazon Echo or Google Home for, based on a new study.

As the number of smart homes continues to grow, smart speakers are poised to be one of the most disruptive trends. About 7% of households in the Americas will have a connected home by the end of this year, according to a new study. Globally, 10% of households will be smart homes by 2025, according to the report by IHS Technology.

Retailers are buying into artificial intelligence with the expectation that it will improve customer engagement. Many marketing executives also look at engagement as impacting revenue and driving purchases, according to a new study. The majority (86%) of retailers plan to invest in AI or machine learning this year, with 69% already using it in their marketing organization.

It appears that connected or smart home devices need some support. Well, at least the people who buy those connected devices might. Some of the tech support is resolved by professional technicians for free and some is not, based on a new study. More than 20% of U.S. broadband households have a technical support subscription, according to the study by Parks Associates. These subscriptions are to get support for a range of connected devices. These are the devices for which consumers have a subscription technical support plan, an extended warranty protection plan or both, in order, …

There may be a somewhat unintended consequence in the projected growth of virtual reality. While sales of VR headsets and revenue grow dramatically, the usage of those headsets will require a substantial amount of network capability to funnel more and more content to the screens. The global market for VR headsets is projected to grow from 9 million headsets shipped last year to 67 million in 2021, according to IDC.

The marketing world may soon get some new guidance on what they should be doing with artificial intelligence. A working group focusing on artificial intelligence and machine learning is being launched by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) today with the goal of helping marketing, technology and advertising executives navigate the impact AI and machine learning will have on the digital world of advertising. "IAB formed this group based on significant member interest," said Susan Borst, deputy director, mobile, at IAB

There's no end in sight for the growth of virtual and augmented reality, at least for the foreseeable future. New projections for worldwide VR and AR show revenue growing 100% or more each year over the next four years. Total spending on VR and AR product and services will reach $11 billion this year, according to the forecast from IDC.