62 . IMAGES RETAIL . DECEMBER 2013

TECHNOLOGY

Consumer durables and electronics retailing have

an extended and a peculiar value chain. Shijo Sunny Thomas writes about an integrated technology

layer that will help make the ‘search to service’

process convenient for all stakeholders.

CONSUMER DURABLES RETAIL EXPERIENCE:THINKING OUT OF THE BIG BOX

A peculiarity about consumer durables and

electronics retailing is that it requires a very

close collaboration and monitoring amongst

retailers, manufacturers, distributors, supply

chain partners and fi nance companies – more

collaboration than other retail formats.

Consumer durables store retailers in India can breathe

a sigh of relief, as ‘showrooming’ has not evolved into a

concern as it has in the US. There is still a lot to go before

the current smartphone wielding Indian shopper starts

scanning barcodes in stores to order the same product online

at a lower price. It has more to do with the lack of shopper

trust in ordering high-ticket durables online, than better

value being found in retail stores. A lot of shoppers are not

too convinced yet with the online delivery chain for big

box items. The erosion of the current comfort zone is just a

matter of time.

DECEMBER 2013 . IMAGES RETAIL . 63

However, a different kind of

phenomena is emerging in India. Many

urban shoppers are researching and

comparing products online. Once the

research is done, they come armed

with this information to stores to

pick the store associate’s brain on

the features and specifi cations of the

product. Subsequently, the shopper

ensues in a negotiation on the price

with the department or the store

manager. Obviously, the store cannot

match the online price, often due

to the credibility of the online price

source, yet the shopper is offered a

comfortable discount. Price is not the

decisive factor in these purchases, the

experience with the store associate and

the brand reputation of the store is.

The store purchase of durables

also gives a sense of confi dence to

the shopper on the post-purchase

activities. There is always someone

to call to check for the delivery time,

installation status and organise a quick

resolution of any post-installation

issues. If the calls fail, the shopper

knows that there is a place to drive to,

‘to sort things out’.

What this brings to the forefront

is the fact that the new age Indian

shopper is well informed, connected,

technology savvy and expects a huge

amount of value transparency in

the purchase. This is coupled with

high expectations related to the post

purchase service reliability, timeliness,

visibility and convenience. Delivering

exceptional pre-purchase, in-store

and post-purchase value to shoppers

have become a mandate and a key

differentiator in this retail segment.

Retailers can provide the expected

value to the shoppers by being aware,

agile, responsive and operationally

effi cient. These are tall words

to use and it all ultimately boils

down to consistency and control

in downstream retail execution.

Achieving operational effi ciency and

operational integration is a mainstay

of this business segment.

In order to derive an effi cient and

integrated store operations model in

the consumer durables retail segment,

it is imperative to understand every

customer touch-point and how these

points can be integrated with the retail

organisation. Once these touch-points

are identifi ed, it can be determined

whether a higher value can be

provided at that touch-point and if it

can be achieved through technology

integration or realigning the business

process or both.

Let us take some of these touch-

points as examples and derive how

these can be integrated with the retail

backbone. Purchase of a consumer

durables product is often a planned

activity where the customer begins

by gathering information about the

product. A retailer should aim at being

present at prominent e-locations,

which the customer would visit

to search for product information.

from the product manufacturer. The

product information management

system should be fl exible enough to

accommodate product videos, which

showcase scenes such as unboxing,

installation and demonstration. An

added advantage would be to generate

social media feeds on new product

launches, which guide the customer to

a location where detailed information

related to the product is available. The

customer should get the feeling that

they are interacting with a brand that

knows the products it is selling.

The designated associate for that

product department will have more

information to share about the

product than what is described in

the e-catalogue. The store associate

can be equipped with a product

Some of the examples are – retailer

e-commerce site, price comparison

engines, streaming media sites such

as YouTube, social media, product

review sites, etc. A retailer should

look at feeding these locations with

comprehensive product information

and also facilitate the comparison of

various products.

The product information repository

for a consumer durables retailer

should be considered as sacred.

Often, the product specifi cations are

so detailed in nature that it requires

a constant and fi ltered connection

with the product manufacturer. This

ensures that information is received

completely, accurately and directly

The product information management system should be flexible enough to accommodate product videos, which showcase scenes such as unboxing, installation and demonstration. An added advantage would be to generate social media feeds on new product launches

64 . IMAGES RETAIL . DECEMBER 2013

TECHNOLOGY

walkthrough checklist wherein the

associate can engage the customer in

a discussion to specifi cally understand

their needs and preferences. This can

be enabled through a mobile device

integrated with the product information

management system combined with

a recommendation engine that will

suggest models based on customer

profi le and preferences.

Now that the associate has wooed

the customer into buying the product,

the next step often in India is a

negotiation on the price. This is where

a store associate might not have the

required authority and this is just

where the department head or the

store manager should step in. Often,

own logistics, 3P logistics partner or

by distributor managed logistics. The

installation is often done by an entity

appointed by the product manufacturer

for that location. For some products, an

installation team does the installation

from the retail organisation. It is

obvious that the moment the order

is generated from the store system, it

should trigger a series of sequential

requests to multiple internal and third-

party entities to facilitate the delivery

and installation of the product. If the

customer could track this process, there

is nothing more desirable than that.

Although it may sound like an

extremely complex technology

landscape requiring extensive efforts,

it is really not so. Today, there are

specialised tools available that

combine the power of integration,

business logic, workfl ow and

mobility in such a way that highly

tailored, light-weight and integrated

applications can be created in a matter

When the customer visits the store, it is imperative that the same product information is available within the store on a mobile device as well as with the store associate. This helps both the decided as well as the undecided customer

of hours. What further lowers the

TCO is the fact that these non-mission

critical applications can be created

and securely hosted on the cloud on a

usage-based pricing model.

On the other hand, standard

integration methods reduce the cost

and complexity of the integration

itself. Whether it be product

information management systems,

CRM systems, store systems, social

media sites, product comparison

engines, manufacturer applications

or logistics partner sites, these

cloud integration tools have readily

available integration methods to

rapidly and cleanly integrate with

any external or internal applications.

This ensures that retailers’ IT teams

are not busy chasing and resolving

integration bottlenecks.

For a consumer durables and

electronics retailer, being fast

and responsive is a part of the

organisational DNA. The value that

the customer gets from an integrated

retail organisation is immense and

satisfying. Designing that value is

often about thinking out of the

big box.

About The Author:

Shijo Sunny Thomas is the Industry Lead

for Retail & CPG at Fujitsu Consulting.

He works closely with retailers in co-

innovation of retail solutions for the store

and the enterprise.

some price override approvals will be

required from a category or operations

person, not located within the store.

An approval workfl ow on a mobile

device can help ensure that approvals

can be obtained quickly and integrated

with the POS application. Additionally,

warranty registration can also be

triggered to the manufacturer for

confi rmation.

The point in durables retail where

the rubber meets the road is in the

delivery and installation of products

at the customer’s desired location.

This is easier said than done. Often

the product will need to be shipped to

the customer location from a captive

warehouse, 3PL managed warehouse

or a distributor’s warehouse. The

actual delivery might be performed by