MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Jan 5th, 2026 — Spark Compass®, a division of Total Communicator Solutions, Inc., today announced the availability of SparkShopper™ AI, a location-aware retail engagement platform built with IBM watsonx.ai and designed to help brick-and-mortar retailers deliver more personalized, real-time in-store experiences.
Retailers continue to invest heavily in digital personalization, yet many physical retail environments face challenges recognizing and responding to shopper behavior while customers are in-store. SparkShopper AI is designed to help address this challenge by applying contextual intelligence to physical environments, enabling retailers to connect digital insights with real-world engagement.
Spark Compass is an IBM Partner Plus Platinum Build Partner and has embedded IBM watsonx.ai into SparkShopper AI to support contextual intelligence capabilities that analyze location, timing, and engagement signals in real time. These capabilities are intended to help retailers surface relevant offers, rewards, and recommendations while shoppers are physically present, without requiring them to replace existing systems.
Bringing Contextual Intelligence to Physical Retail
While e-commerce platforms routinely use AI to personalize online experiences, physical retail has historically lacked comparable visibility into shopper intent during store visits. SparkShopper AI is designed to help bridge this gap by enabling retailers to better understand in-store context and deliver more timely, relevant interactions.
By embedding IBM watsonx.ai, SparkShopper AI is designed to support intelligent personalization across physical retail environments, including specialty retail, department stores, shopping centers, hospitality venues, and experiential destinations.
Retail Leadership to Support Market Adoption
To support enterprise adoption of SparkShopper AI, Spark Compass announced the appointment of Steve Palladino as Head of Retail Solutions.
Palladino brings more than two decades of enterprise retail experience from IBM and Capgemini, where he worked with large retail organizations on digital transformation initiatives and customer engagement strategies. In his new role, Palladino will focus on supporting retailers as they evaluate, deploy, and scale AI-driven engagement solutions within physical store environments.
“Steve brings deep experience working with enterprise retailers navigating complex technology environments,” said Erik Bjontegard, Founder and CEO of Spark Compass. “His leadership supports our goal of helping retailers explore new ways to connect with shoppers inside physical stores using AI.”
Built with IBM watsonx.ai to Support Enterprise Requirements
SparkShopper AI is built with IBM watsonx.ai, IBM’s enterprise-ready AI platform, to support scalability, security, and integration within hybrid cloud environments. Working within IBM’s Partner Plus ecosystem enables Spark Compass to develop AI-enabled retail engagement solutions aligned with enterprise customer requirements.
SparkShopper AI is currently being deployed with select retail organizations, with broader availability planned across multiple retail sectors.
About Spark Compass
Spark Compass, a division of Total Communicator Solutions, Inc., delivers a Real-World Operating System designed to connect digital intelligence with physical environments. SparkShopper™ AI represents a commercial application of Spark Compass’ patented Contextual Intelligence Engine, focused on enabling AI-driven engagement within brick-and-mortar retail environments. To learn more, visit www.sparkcompass.com.
About IBM
IBM is a leading provider of hybrid cloud, AI, and consulting solutions that help organizations unlock value from data and modernize business operations. IBM works with partners across industries to support the responsible adoption of AI through watsonx™, an enterprise-ready platform for AI, data, and governance. To learn more, visit www.ibm.com.
For more information, please contact:
Steve Palladino
stevep@sparkcompass.com
(707) 478-1329