Compared with the pace of technology, retail seems to be in the dark ages. Probably because making significant changes are costly and would require so many pieces to fit that by the time you could get a new operation implemented it would be obsolete. However, that doesn’t stop thinkers from thinking.
There are several retail technologies that have retail enthusiasts buzzing.
First there is Advanced Media Services’ 3GTV. Advertising in stores is undeniably the way to go in today’s fragmented media marketplace. However, figuring out how to do that without intruding on the shopping experience is a conundrum. Advanced Media is proposing showing TV commercials on store shelves via mini video screens.
“People are still watching television, but they’re spread out among hundreds of channels and the Internet,” Mr. Manning [former chairman and chief executive officer at the JWT division of WPP] said. “The one place where people re-aggregate themselves back into a crowd again is the retail store.”
The shelf placement approach contrasts with in-store TV networks which are typically positioned at checkout, after purchase decisions have been made. Manufacutures can buy ad space to tell stories and push information right next to their products when the shopper is still in the decision-making process.
While product advertising may be more of a manufacturer concern, improving the store experience is definitely a retailer priority. Two different technologies propose to minimize the most annoying part of any trip to any store — waiting in line.
You can’t talk about technology without talking about Apple products. Global Bay is using the iPhone to present a mobile POS device that allows shoppers to checkout from anywhere in the store with the help of any salesperson holding the device. Apple stores already employ a technology that does away with the cash wrap. Global Bay would like to see that become the standard. Watch their videos to see how the handheld device could stop loss due to checkout weariness.
In South Korea researchers have taken the checkout issue a step further and want to eliminate that part of the experience altogether. Science News reports that Sunchon National University teamed up with researchers at Rice University in Houston, TX to develop RFID tags that can be printed right onto product packaging. The short story is that printing tags on the packing is relatively cheap and would allow computers to read what a shopper has in her cart and check her out without ever waiting in line. The idea is similar to toll booth devices that allow cars to ride through without stopping. The same thing would happen at the store. Shoppers would just push their carts through the checkout line, RFID tags on all the merchandise is read and they can keep on walking out to the car. Read the Science News article for all the gritty details.
