FMA Retail Blog

This was the second year Kioskcom and the Digital Signage Show have come together in the reconfigured, integrated format of Customer Engagement Technology World (CETW). This new orientation encompassing all kinds of emerging screen media technologies from kiosks to digital signage to mobile solutions is so right for navigating the evolving retail environment. It is the only industry association conference that truly embraces the multi-channel and omni-channel trends for all concerned!

Frank Mayer and Associates sent a cadre of people representing all facets of our company. Here are some of our insights from this melding of keen minds.

1) Digitally-focused consumers have high expectations. Consequently, looking at new technologies from a features and components standpoint underestimates the value of screen media in the customer experience and stands to alienate shoppers. Embracing all of these emerging technologies in a single marketing strategy view helps retailers and brands create an omni-channel environment that keeps customers engaged.

As a project integrator approached by retailers and brands, we see the advantage to all parties to have a partner that is focused not just on the structure but the total experience. Anyone at CETW realized there are more pieces than ever that go into that experience. Though some of us in this industry don’t look like athletes, we’re in an environment where agility, speed, and experience are requirements.

2) In one short year, tablets have rapidly reframed the conversation about customer engagement.

Tablets have redefined what self-service and assisted selling can look like. They have the ability to add personalized excitement and value to a shopper’s in-store experience. Tablets as self-service or retail associates’ tools require us to overcome physical limitations inherent in the design and demand practical considerations like how to turn them into self-service kiosks and counter displays and how to, operations wise, keep them updated and charged.

Companies like Apple with its iPad and a few others with tablets operating on the Android system, are forcing retailers into a different orientation. The question is how much these new screens will enhance retail and how much they could disrupt it. Either way, as a retail marketing company, we’ve quickly expanded our repertoire!

3) The retail context is a moving target, but many of the pitfalls to implementing successful self-service programs are the same. These activities were discussed in the sessions I chaired and participated in at the CETW Expert Sessions:

• “You don’t know what you don’t know.” Find partners and collaborators recognized in the industry for their experience and ethics.
• Be hardware and software agnostic, focus on how your screen media solution supports your marketing strategy and the consumer’s experience.
• Evaluate how the digital solution is supporting store associates and the overall in-store shopping experience. This what brings consumers back and creates loyalty.

4) Interactive solutions no longer offer just a digital menu of options for the consumer to select, but are becoming facilitators of highly personalized and relevant interactions.

•  Self-service in-store merchandising can be an active component in a brand’s or retailer’s integrated mobile marketing program whether it facilitates opt-in communication, a loyalty program or portability of information. It can encompass the omni-channel view of the brand or retailer.
• In-store marketing will be more location-based. This means not just “where’s the nearest store and here’s an incentive to go there.”  It means delivering an experience from a kiosk, display or digital sign to a mobile device that is possibly user-, place-, time- and context-appropriate.

CETW is truly a meeting of the best and the brightest in the Digital Screen Media Industry and has served the industry well by offering a showcase for the industries’ thought leaders and innovators, willing to share for the growth of the industry, their expertise, experience and insights with retail leaders.

Published 4/6/2102  – by Ron Bowers

Formal processes have their place in business, but try as they might, our customers can’t evaluate the total value of retail solutions, from a components list. Nor can they simply look at design alternatives to make their choice. There is so much more than meets the eye or the spreadsheet.

A completed kiosk or interactive display is more than the sum of its components, the shape of its enclosure, or the user experience of its software application. The value of a well-designed kiosk solution encompasses a process, a product, and performance.

A sound process leads to a viable product and the best chance of achieving the desired business outcome for the store experience. A good in-store merchandising design partner uses a proven approach that is creative, responsive at every point, and thorough in attention to detail and engagement.

The management of an interactive project requires responsiveness that balances the objectives of the brand, desires of the retailer, and value to the end user. The integration of an interactive project requires coordination and cooperation across suppliers and partners that take into account the needs of all three parties.

Having said all that, here are four of the critical aspects you should focus on when evaluating self-service in-store merchandising:

1)  The branding message is a critical aspect of acceptance or failure of a solution. The product is made up of the quality of its components and the message it carries about the brand or retailer. Kiosks and interactive merchandising do not stand alone; they are designed to be an integral part of a cohesive strategy and embody the look and feel of a larger marketing program. They are a vehicle for attracting and engaging the consumer, the end user. The design and promise of a solution is the initial call to action, which is essential to trial and ultimately success!

2) Attention to detail can have a significant impact on the performance of an interactive unit in the field. Each kiosk or interactive display has a particular business outcome that can only be achieved if it continuously operates as planned. It has a lifetime purpose and a lifetime cost. Component selection and configuration do matter.

3) The price you pay today for components does not reflect the opportunity costs over the duration of a project. It is crucial to understand the quality of the components that an in-store merchandising designer sources for your project. The savings perceived up-front can disappear quickly when a unit has a component with a high failure rate. The price of one service call can be two to three times the “savings” from the cheaper component.

4) The interactive solutions your in-store merchandising company produces should have an extremely high success rate. Ask for hard numbers that establish what kind of track record a company has once its solutions are in the field. Look at the strength of its experience portfolio. Inquire about the process it uses to design, engineer, test, produce and maintain a product that has integrity and long term success.

Self–Service Retail requires a partner that understands Retail and can create a solution experience which will deliver in these crucial areas in design and execution! 

Published 3/6/2012 – by Ron Bowers

I attended a presentation by Google’s Catherine Roe last week, where she cited a statistic that should stop retailers and brand marketers in their tracks. Today’s consumer, across all categories, consults 10.7 references before making a purchase. Just two years ago that number was 5.3.  A proliferation of screens with the advent of tablets may be one factor contributing to the increase.

The takeaway from the above finding is that:
 1) Shoppers are well prepared and retail associates had better be also.
 2) Marketers must be committed to linking content across channels and  providing experiences across a variety of media.

One of the ways retailers are responding to these imperatives is by following consumers’ newfound engagement with tablets by incorporating them on the sales floor. Tablets are not just for “pretailing” and “couch commerce.” They’re proving useful for checking inventory, placing orders, customizing, cross-selling, demonstrating, coordinating, training and more. 

Could 2012 Be the Year of the Tablet?

Retailers from department stores like Nordstrom to specialty stores like Pac Sun had tablet programs in test or rollout going into the 2011 holiday season. This is just the first mile in a journey that leads to differentiated customer experience and responsive omni-channel retailing.

The road will soon get more crowded. A new “Retail Embraces Tablets” survey released by RIS News last week indicates 2012 could be the year of the tablet for retailers. Only 6 percent of the 50 retailers who responded have deployed tablets, but another 28% are testing them. Importantly, 31% said they plan to begin testing in 2012.

Which Tablet Is Right for Retail?

The many uses for tablets at retail raise the question of which one is right for a particular setting, a rugged enterprise-grade tablet or a consumer tablet intended for personal use. It seems that retailers theoretically want both.

Their choice of operating system is perhaps most telling. When asked in the RIS News survey, “Which tablet operating systems are high on your priority list?” the majority at 72% chose the iOS system used in Apple’s iPad. At 58% and 49%, respectively, Windows and Android were also under consideration.

Unquestionably, the iPad seems to be getting most of the attention, particularly for retailers who have invested in consumer applications targeted to the device. Retailers are interested in using iPads in one or more scenarios: sophisticated kiosks that incorporate the iPad as the touchscreen; simple kiosks that place the iPad on a stand or in a counter unit; and associate-controlled iPads that need to be supported with docking and charging stations.

From a retail merchandising perspective, there are many factors that go into the decision of how to satisfy consumers’ touchscreen technology needs:

* Software compatibility
* Durability and warranty
* Peripheral support
* Security
* Remote management
* Battery life
* Internet Access

How to choose the right tablet for a particular task and environment is a broad topic for a short blog.  We’ve covered it in greater depth in our latest whitepaper, which we invite you to read on the screen of your choice.

What do you think? Will 2012 be the year of the tablet at retail?