The retail sector has developed a strong technology stack in recent years, from handheld devices to point of sale and back end systems that produce and store a large amount of data. With developments in cloud computing, Big Data and other technologies, what can the channel do to leverage the value and increase opportunities from retail tech?
POINT OF SALE (POS)
Daniel Rafferty, channel sales manager, Epson
Cloud-based POS systems can help retailers eliminate till-point downtime because they store data online and do not have the same maintenance requirements as in-house POS. In a recent study conducted by Epson in the UK, retailers identified minimising system downtime as the major benefit of cloud-based POS, although not many have introduced cloud-based POS systems yet.
While the majority of retailers have not adopted a cloud-based approach here or in the UK, it is clear they are aware of the potential benefits of cloud-based POS, such as remote device management, generating cost savings and improving business efficiency. With retailers needing to compete with the online shopping experience, the cloud can also be an effective way to maximise sales opportunities, reduce queue times and improve the speed of customer service.
As well as improving the efficiency of their IT systems, cloud-based POS means retail assistants can influence customer buying behaviour by walking throughout the store. They can carry out transactions, deliver tailored information on Web-enabled handheld devices and remotely print receipts, enabling greater customer interaction and cross-selling opportunities, as well as cutting down on queuing times. This is exactly the kind of innovation needed to increase the differentiation between online and in-store customer experience and preserve our retail environment.
Neil Dover, HP Ireland retail manager
Combined with big data and cloud computing, the HP ElitePad with its RPOS jacket offers a very exciting opportunity for retailers seeking to offer a first class customer experience. Real time customer purchasing histories, suggested purchases based on similar buying trends and increased attach opportunities are just some of the benefits.
The decline of the fixed RPOS is inevitable with the future evolving into multiple roving tablet devices that can not only be used to transact, but also to view product videos, customer reviews and detailed specifications, as well as stock across multiple stores.
HP is in the forefront of these changes in the retail sector and leading the way with some very intuitive solutions combined with attractive, state of the art hardware.
SELF CHECKOUT & CONTACTLESS PAYMENTS
Eric Cooney, head of sales, Sage Pay
Contactless payments is the biggest change to the in-store payment process since the advent of chip and pin payments in 2003. In Ireland we’ve already seen over 1.5 million Laser cards replaced with contactless-capable VISA debit cards. These cards have significant benefits for merchants and cardholders in terms of faster payment times, reduced cost of handling cash etc.
Contactless transactions are currently positioned as an alternative to cash for low value transactions (currently defined as values under €15). The next phase of contactless payments will see a move from the plastic card to the smartphone and support much higher value transactions. The emergence of payment on smartphones, managed in an e-wallet will truly revolutionise the payment process for merchant and customer.
Seamus McHugh, marketing manager, CBE
Consumers are more technologically advanced than ever before and this presents retailers with tremendous opportunities to engage with customers and offer them different shopping experiences to match their preferences.
Although around for a number of years, self-checkout is only now becoming available in mainstream retail stores. Enhancements to user interfaces aligned with customers becoming more familiar with self-service technologies have ensured any investment in self-checkout will provide significant benefits for the retailer and the shopper.
Research has shown a third of shoppers prefer to use self-checkout over cashier staffed checkouts. Consumers are switching supermarkets to stores that match their needs and offer newer, more convenient, methods of payment.
By understanding customers’ needs and offering self-checkout along with traditional checkouts, retailers are seeing enormous benefits in the way their stores operate. They can have more checkouts open for longer at no extra cost which serves customers better and reduce queues at peak shopping periods.
Self-checkout also offers a more convenient alternative for basket shoppers and improves labour efficiency by allowing staff to be redeployed in a more efficient manner. And the typical return on investment is 18 months.
Cashless self-checkout is the next generation in self-checkout technology as it offers a card only payment solution, eliminating cash handling at the point of sale and provides a more streamlined payment option as customers switch to card payments over cash.
As consumers demand more control of their shopping experience, self-checkout provides that control. Aligned with contactless payment technology and near field communication, the age of empowering the consumer has well and truly begun.
Conn Loy, managing director, IOResource
Our general run-rate business is pretty much the same as it always has been for the last five, six to 10 years.
Self service checkout is a new area. Our hardware partner NCR owns 80% of market share in the UK and 70% globally with NCR SelfServ Checkout. It’s always worked with the big Tier 1 players, so Asda are rolling it out in the UK and Walmart in the US. We’re working to bring it to market here with Leaders Enterprises and they’re looking to take it into the Tier 2 market now.
Cash tender module, the cash handling part of checkout, is another NCR solution we’re working on. It’s a customer facing solution. The cashier never handles the money, so you’re reducing shrinkage in terms of cash in the till and you eliminate the possibility that the consumer will get the wrong change. Bank note recycling is also included.
It brings comprehensive benefits to the business. You’re not just reducing the possibility of cash disappearing, you’re also reducing the amount of cash floating around the business. You no longer have to have floats when changing operators. Skimming the cash drawer is no longer necessary and you always know how much money is in the cash tender module. We are still very much at the initial stages of introducing this solution.
In terms of the cloud, Posiflex is a software company producing the equivalent to a cash register that you back off to the cloud for data storage and it allows you to run all sorts of reports from an iPhone or a tablet.
One of the big challenges is accessibility to the Web; broadband access is pretty pathetic in some areas.
There are few changes coming on the technology front. There’s a company called Ultra Systems working on a PC-based POS running Windows CE as an embedded software solution on a Posiflex hardware platform. Known as PICO-POS, it is targeted at the lower end of the market to replace electronic cash registers. It’s a scalable solution that can either be standalone or you can back it off into the Web. We’re expecting to deploy seed units in the third quarter.
NCR has launched its Silver POS solution in the US market which only runs on iOS devices and is aimed at ‘mom and pop’ stores. It’s not expected here until next year but we’re keeping an eye on it because it looks quite interesting.
There’s also a company in New Zealand called Vend which is producing multi-platform POS software that runs on a PC, Mac or iPad. It’s subscription-based and there have been a lot of enquiries from people looking to deploy it on iPads.
MOBILE DEVICES
Cathal Murtagh, sales director, VisionID
Retailers need to enhance their shoppers’ experience, knowing that at the same time customers have options to shop wherever and whenever they want, often without stepping inside a store. Retailers have to anticipate a shopper’s buying behaviour, whether the route they take begins with a website, social site or the car park outside of their store. They need to provide a compelling and personalised way to rekindle the special bond between the shopper and their brand.
Based on research in conjunction with Motorola, 56% of all transactions in the next five years will be completed via mobile point of sale, self-checkout at a terminal, or on a shopper’s mobile device. Shoppers’ habits are shifting as more consumers adopt smartphones. Smartphone users are utilising their devices in the store for a range of uses including shopping lists, product reviews and price comparison or just to send a picture to a friend about the new item they found on sale.
VisionID specialise in the provision of mobile computing solutions and the transformation within our retail client base to the use of mobile devices in retail is core to our growth. These solutions can consist of providing the customer with a mobile device directly and enabling them to scan as they shop or, in the near future, allowing clients to shop and check out on their own smartphone.
Also we are seeing a big drive to empower store assistants with mobile computers, so they have the necessary product information etc. for the client to hand, improving the whole experience for the customer. Retailers know shoppers can easily find a better deal elsewhere, making customer service as important as ever.
In short, customers need a compelling reason to keep coming back to the shop as opposed to buying online, and the technologies we provide such as mobile computing, wireless LAN and RFID can enable the solutions to engage clients and improve their shopping experience.
CLOUD-BASED ANALYTICS
Conall Lavery & John Hogan, founders, Real World Retail
Lavery: "Retail is facing a perfect storm of substantially reduced demand coupled with online buying. I asked one customer why it was buying a back office system now when it had been in business for 15 years. He said that during the good times, in order to make the biggest impact, it had looked at selling more with more promotions in store and opening new stores because the cheap finance allowed him to do that. But with cheap finance cut and consumer demand down, it had to get better at the back office in managing the business.
The big guys in our space have solutions based on databases (SAP, Oracle). It’s like an ERP project where the business is crawling with consultants and it costs a lot in money and people, resources, time and opportunity costs. If you have a turnover of over EUR*100m, you can afford that.
We’ve come in with a second generation business analytics tool that can be delivered from the cloud. From a technology perspective, our hosted solution does all the number crunching. The client is a browser interface so you don’t need much bandwidth for that."
Hogan: "Retailers often have a customer database through a loyalty card programme. We can analyse that and do customer segmentation to help them customise and personalise offers to loyalty card owners. They get a better experience because it’s much more personalised.
We can help them chase the good sellers, the products that are working in individual stores. We can also identify slow moving stock to them and put them in charge of their relationship with their supplier. One of the big problems with retail in recession is over-buying. We give buyers control over what they need to buy by giving them very up to date information in terms of how the business is going."
Lavery: "We can transform the weekly and monthly management meetings for customers. They can spot the trends and get in early. There’s a lot of data that gets lost in the huge amount of data being spat out by EPOS systems and opportunities are lost. Our system can give them the answers at their fingertips. They can get reports indicating a problem or an opportunity. Decisions can be made this week, not next month or too late.
When we were starting out, we felt we were competing with ERP systems. But unless there’s something drastically wrong with your transactional system, you should just leave it. You don’t need to change systems to an ERP system. We can help retailers sweat the assets. Nobody wants to spend money on systems if they can avoid it."
Hogan: "An ERP system will give you lot of smart reports. We’ll give you the next step in the process of the action you need to take. You wouldn’t get that with an ERP system. We give you better reports than you get from ERP."
Subscribers 0
Fans 0
Followers 0
Followers