138 . IMAGES RETAIL . OCTOBER 2013

TECHNOLOGY

By Shijo Sunny Thomas

Shopper convenience in a retail store in the age of mobility is generating tremendous buzz across all retail formats. There are various opportunities for retailers to deploy in-store mobile applications to provide an enriching customer experience.

Shoppers ask a lot of questions. Where do

you keep the cheese? Does this deodorant

have any side effects? Are there any wash

care instructions for this dress? How do I

connect to a Wi-Fi network in a Wi-Fi TV?

Can you tell me the balance points on my

card? Would it not be great to have store staff address

and answer each and every customer query in the most

descriptive and satisfying manner? It would also be ideal

for a store associate to be available at an arm’s length to

a customer, every time a customer has a query or needs

assistance. Reality is different.

More than often, due to higher foot falls, it is not

practically possible to provide individual attention to

customers when desired. It is also not possible for each

store associate to have in depth knowledge about each

and every product and its usage. So, how do retailers

balance the demands of personalised in-store customer

WHERE DO YOU KEEP

THE CHEESE?

In-store mobile apps can resolve shoppers queries

OCTOBER 2013 . IMAGES RETAIL . 139

service and lower store operational

costs? A possible answer could lie

in retailer managed in-store mobility

devices and applications that can be

accessed by their shoppers.

The adoption and deployment of

mobile devices and applications in

the retail store have taken a variety of

forms. Shoppers can now download

applications to get information on

the latest promotions and view their

loyalty points. Store applications are

used by the associates on tablets and

smart phones for range of business

activities such as task management,

space execution, inventory

confi rmations, performance reports etc.

One way of providing in store

convenience through mobile is

through software applications on

shopper devices. In technology

parlance, this is called Bring Your

Own Device (or BYOD), where

shoppers can bring their own phones

and tablets into a store to be used

for various activities. BYOD might

work great for employees, but for

customers there is still time to go.

Retailers are still apprehensive about

the security implications of allowing

customer devices to connect with the

retail enterprise from within a store.

In addition to security concerns,

retailers also have to invest in making

the applications compatible across

popular mobile platforms and devices

to appeal to a large customer base.

A vast majority of retailers around

the world are keenly considering an

in-store mobile strategy around their

own devices. Retailer mobile devices

are deployed within the store taking

advantage of connectivity to an in-

store network. Shoppers can access

the applications on these devices

during their visit to retail stores. The

devices and the applications are fully

managed by the retailer, putting to

rest any major security concerns. This

is also cost effective considering the

gains from standardization of devices

and applications across all stores of

the retailer.

For the device, retailers can opt for

rugged tablets, attractive form factor

devices or even commercially available

low cost tablets. The choice depends on

the customer profi le, usage assessment

and physical security risk to the

devices. Depending on the business

purpose of the applications, the

devices can be mounted on shopping

carts, or at key points within relevant

departments in a retail outlet.

Ultimately, it all comes down to

the purpose of these devices, which

is determined by the applications

and its usability. The applications

on the in-store mobile devices are

designed primarily to offer sales fl oor

support to drive conversions. These

help in providing a unique customer

experience by allowing customers to

access various types of information

and perform various transactions that

would normally require the assistance

of a store associate.

First of all, access to these devices

can be provided only to house

customers. Customers will be required

to login to use the device. This can be

synced to the ecommerce account that

the customer has with the retailer.

Customer registration can also be

provided as an option for fi rst time

customers, thereby serving as a point

to capture new customer data.

Identifying a customer helps the

retailer achieve a wide variety of

objectives. The retailer can derive

usability parameters, get information

on merchandise preferences, and

invite customer feedback. Retailers

can also drive personalized

promotions and offers through

targeted messaging. The shopper also

stands to gain, by being able to access

her account information, loyalty

points and personal preferences. The

services can be extended to accessing

her online shopping cart, requesting

for home delivery etc.

FOR THE DEVICE, RETAILERS CAN OPT FOR RUGGED TABLETS, ATTRACTIVE FORM FACTOR DEVICES OR EVEN COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE LOW COST TABLETS. THE CHOICE DEPENDS ON THE CUSTOMER PROFILE, USAGE ASSESSMENT AND PHYSICAL SECURITY RISK TO THE DEVICES.

Mobile apps offers sales floor support to drive conversions

140 . IMAGES RETAIL . OCTOBER 2013

TECHNOLOGY

The customer facing applications

that can be made available on the

in-store device are endless. Shoppers

can search for a product using

a standard search interface. The

customer can view detailed product

information, pricing information,

available inventory, product videos,

product location etc. on the mobile

device. The retailer can also display

any promotional offers for the

searched products, inciting the

shopper to buy the product.

This can be of huge value in

merchandise departments such as

consumer electronics, where shoppers

can achieve a self-service access to

detailed information about product

specifi cations, usage and installation.

If the device and the store IT

infrastructure are designed for

tracking the location of the device

within the store, then the customer

can request for assistance from a store

associate. Associates within the store

will get an alert with the customer

coordinates using which they can

reach out to the customer in no time.

The applications on the in-store

device can also be used to solicit

customer feedback, opinions,

complaints or suggestions. It can

also be used to drive customer

surveys. These can all be consolidated

within an enterprise CRM to derive

actionable insights.

In addition to the customer service

and convenience benefi ts provided

to the retailer, these applications

can also supply a constant stream of

data pertaining to in-store shopper

behavior, shopper experience with

merchandise categories, reaction to in-

store promotions and lost sales.

The applications will need to be

built in such a way that they can

connect to a retailer’s enterprise

systems in a very effective way.

The applications will require access

to customer information, product

information, inventory information,

promotional offers, customer

preferences etc. It has to be ensured

that all this information is transmitted

securely within a retail premise to

the in-store mobile device. A retailer

will also need to ensure that all in-

store devices across the enterprise

are managed and monitored from a

centralized location to prevent any

unauthorized access and also to

prevent damage or loss of the device.

Centralized administration is also

necessary to manage the content

on all in-store devices across the

enterprise store landscape.

Designing an in-store mobility

program cannot have a one-size-

fi ts-all approach. A retailer needs

to carefully analyze a multitude of

parameters before determining not

only the applications, but also the

content and the usability. In order to

cater to wide strata of customers, it

is important to orient each customer

class in different way, which best

suits the needs of that customer class.

A certain amount of hand holding

through demonstrations and signage

will be required to increase user

adoption. The interface can be made

available in regional languages to

promote adoptability as well.

Usage of retailer devices and

applications within retail might not

be common place in today’s world.

Yet, a need for superior customer

convenience and experience exist

at all modern retail stores. The idea

is not to suggest a phenomenally

expensive proposition to retailers to

procure and deploy a large number

of in-store devices across all retail

outlets. Retailers should consider

evaluating a pilot project in certain

key stores or certain merchandise

categories where providing a

superlative customer experience can

derive visible results in store sales

improvement.

A RETAILER WILL ALSO NEED TO ENSURE THAT ALL IN-STORE DEVICES ACROSS THE ENTERPRISE ARE MANAGED AND MONITORED FROM A CENTRALISED LOCATION TO PREVENT ANY UNAUTHORISED ACCESS

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.