This article was originally published in Retailspeak Magazine Understanding the customer is the key to success for all retailers, irrespective of the sector in which they operate or the geographical location of their outlets. While this applies to every area of the business, from stock selection to store location, it is also critically important in deciding which new technologies should be adopted and when. "Transforming the Shopping Experience Through Technology" is a recent report sponsored by Extended Retail Solutions (ERS), a joint initiative from Intel, Capgemini, CISCO Systems, and Microsoft. It aims to help retailers understand the expectations of today's European consumers when it comes to how they want to shop and the technologies they would like to see and use in the process. According to the report, consumers are frustrated with flaws in traditional shopping methods. Difficulty in locating items and congested checkouts prevent them from completing their shopping quickly and easily. This frustration has a significant negative impact on consumers' buying behavior in terms of the volume of goods they purchase. As a result of lines and delays, a shopper may leave a store without making any purchase whatsoever. In addition, a staggering half of customers avoid the store in question as a result. In the UK specifically, consumers who have given up at the point of sale represent 42 percent of those polled. The situation was shown to be even worse in France and Germany, with 54 percent of consumers punishing retailers for in-store frustrations by shopping elsewhere next time around. With so much at stake, retailers must react quickly to resolve these issues. The only alternative is to lose precious customer loyalty and competitive advantage. Put Customers in the Driver's SeatDespite concerns about in-store delays, the report shows that Europeans are willing to use technology-based features and tools that save time and make shopping easier. This is good news for retailers, giving them the option of implementing new technologies such as rich-media customer service terminals, smart screens and self-checkout devices to address customer concerns. Significantly, self-service applications and devices are likely to encourage consumers to spend more time and money in the store. They may also be encouraged to buy higher-quality products. More than two-thirds of consumers would use self-service terminals that provide promotional information. While it seems likely that this figure would only apply to the younger generation, the over 65 year-olds polled in the research said they would also be happy to use the new technology. In addition, half of respondents claimed they would use self-service checkouts and technology for ordering products that were not available in-store. Meanwhile, 60 percent would use devices to access product information and location details. Seize the DayThis is great news for traditional brick-and-mortar retailers, who now have a means of reducing in-store lines and preventing consumers from migrating to pure-play online operators. Technology providers are offering self-service solutions ranging from product information kiosks to self-pay terminals. These are available as both fixed-location solutions and mobile options. When built on open platforms, they can also support mobile access to information and services, further enhancing the variety of service available to customers. By improving the customer experience in these ways, retailers can even reverse the trend of consumers spending less time in stores, says the report. If product information is more accessible, consumers may take the opportunity to do some research. More informed customers are more confident and prolific buyers. The report's respondents also believe that self-service technologies would deliver a more interesting shopping experience. One-third of those asked said they would be more likely to spend more in stores that offer these solutions. These findings mirror similar research conducted in the U.S. where self-service has already taken off. All the indications are that these solutions are the key to increased revenues and cost savings. U.S. Leads the Way in Line BustingIn its 17 years, Radiant Systems has had its fair share of self-service experience, with its first implementation 10 years ago. The company's customizable self-service kiosks, based on the Radiant 6e CSS platform, have been widely embraced with more than 5,000 deployed over 1,000 locations mainly across the quick-service restaurant and cinema industries. The solutions are processing 1.3 million self-service transactions a week. Chuck Mallory, Product Director for Self-service of Radiant Systems, says, "In the US, we are seeing a lot of self-service popping up in food retailing." He refers to a Food Marketing Institute statistic, indicating that more than 29 percent of US retailers now have self-checkouts and 24 percent are planning to install them. "It's dramatic. Two years ago that number would have been in the single digits," he says. "They are spending aggressively to install this technology." He explains that the technology shouldn't be perceived as a threat to jobs. "Our customers aren't trying to replace people. They are more focused on driving incremental revenue and re-deploying labor to higher value-add activities that are more customer-focused." Mallory says that retailers should also bear in mind that consumers will benefit even if they choose not to use the technology. "Most non-users say that the presence of devices improves their shopping experience, ultimately because it reduces the wait in checkout lines." According to Mallory, retailers are gaining exceptional value from the solutions. These range from cost savings through customizing orders to higher order accuracy, reducing waste to almost zero. He also says that retailers shouldn't worry that consumers will feel intimidated by the technology. "We have found that when it is presented correctly, customers are happy to interact with a device because they know it's going to get their order right."
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