Omnichannel - The Key to Retail Success

At present retailers are increasingly looking into implementing omnichannel retail strategies in order to create a better experience for their customers. These strategies help not only with sales revenue but they let the customer do whatever they need to do throughout their shopping experience no matter what device or platform they are on. This creates an easier and more efficient way for the customer to shop.

An omnichannel strategy that is becoming more popular with retail decision makers is the advancement in mobile capabilities. Retailers are increasingly looking into ways that they can interact with their customers through online platforms which can be accessed through smart phones or tablets. Some online sites include a feature that lets the shopper interact with a stylist to help choose products dependent on the customers likes and dislikes. This kind of service can normally only be found in a physical store. For example Nordstrom acquired Trunk Club, the personalized clothing service which meant shoppers had clothes hand selected by stylists and sent straight to their door with no shipping costs. A service like that in a world where working hours are getting longer and customers are increasingly looking online to shop means that a better online relationship with customers can yield higher revenue sales. Nordstrom experienced a 6.2% increase in sales after their acquisition of the Trunk Club. By creating an omnichannel retail experience, shoppers can still have the same experience they might expect in store whilst on the move on a tablet, laptop or smartphone. 

In store, mobile advancements are creating more efficient shopping experiences for customers. Store associates are often equipped with iPads or other tablets and can walk the isles and interact with customers. This gives them the ability to look up stock numbers on the spot, order in from other stores to cater for the customer’s exact needs or in some cases pay for the products then and there. This makes the shopping experience a more fluid and efficient process.

A recent app powered by Pick’n’Tell for Alfred Angelo bridal company has recording mirrors in store which allows brides to record or take pictures of themselves in the dresses they like. These images or videos then are immediately sent to the consumer’s smartphone which allows the shopper to be able to take the time at home to review the best option and can then buy it easily online. The app can also be used to choose dresses online which will be ready for them on arrival at the store. This creates a seamless customer experience across the digital and physical shopping world.

This ability to create an easier and more personalized shopping experience is increasingly becoming the key in retail strategies. By using omnichannels, companies are able to give the customer a more unique and efficient retail experience which will keep them coming back and thus increasing sales revenue.

APEX is where retailers can leverage payments technology for their strategic roadmaps, including boosting in-store visits, basket sizes, conversion and more. At APEX, technologies deploy mobile capabilities, loyalty, closed-loop currencies, wallets, acceptance devices that drive these strategic objectives. Retailers will scrutinize the latest technology alongside their peers and discuss the challenges and feasibility of implementation.

Join us February 23-25 at All Payments Expo where a new tailored Omnichannel Retail Payments Forum with content built for merchants' strategic executives, exploring how payments-backed technologies are impacting retail. Functions include: Corporate Strategy, CIO, IT, E- and M-Commerce, Finance, Treasury, Payment Services.

Download the complete agenda here to see full session details.

Prices increase this Friday! Register now with the code XU2848BLOG and save $200!

See you in Las Vegas!


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Sources: 
Forbes - http://www.forbes.com/sites/walterloeb/2014/08/19/nordstroms-unfolding-strategy-reflects-the-future-of-retailing/  
Mobile Commerce Daily - http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/alfred-angelo-makes-shopping-for-bridal-fashions-social-via-new-app

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Register for APEX by Friday 1/31 to Save $200!

As a valued reader of our blog, you will receive an EXTRA 10% off the current conference rate! That is over $200 in extra savings – over $400 in total savings.

Register Here: http://bit.ly/1anEGNC

All Payments Expo is taking place March 3-5 at The Mirage in Las Vegas. All Payments Expo is the annual meeting place for payments professionals focused on areas of growth and convergence in payments. Our mission is to catalyze the partnerships necessary to build the next generation of payments, from the mobile environment to the brick-and-mortar POS.

It's a new year, and 2014 promises to be a big one for payments players. With new products being developed, competition intensifying and regulation and interchange rulings expected this year, partnerships are powering major moves in the next fiscal year.

Register now and lock in the lowest rate: http://bit.ly/1anEGNC

See you in Las Vegas!

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Where Do YOU Think Prepaid and Payments are Headed?

The Prepaid Expo and the Mercator Advisory Group have co-authored a prepaid industry attitudinal survey. Respondents from across the entire prepaid industry will be able to voice their opinion on where they feel prepaid is headed. 


You can participate in the survey here or scan the QR code. The survey has been divided into two separate paths, with tailored questions for GPR players and closed-loop players. Participants will be entered to win a 16GB iPad with retina display.

Results from this survey will be revealed at the Prepaid Expo this March – as well as the winner of the iPad. Data from the survey is exclusive data that you will not be able to find anywhere else. You do not want to miss the opportunity for exclusive industry insights. Click here to register for the Prepaid Expo.

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How Restaurant Technology Innovation is Driving Revenue

A MenuPad, a new application used for ordering
 meals and wine and even paying the check. 
(Source: bizjournals.com)

The ecosystem of the restaurant experience is ever evolving. As technology advances, and customer habits grow increasingly impatient, diners are continuously seeking methods to streamline the interactions they may encounter as they search for their next meal. Businesses on the low tech side of the spectrum have begun to reevaluate the restaurant  recommendation revolution to drive revenue. 

While the main source of traffic to new restaurants are derived through word of mouth or favorable mention from friends and family, diners are now embracing a modernized approach when they consider to experiment with a new restaurant experience.

In the information age, knowledge and research are vital in making informed decisions. For many smartphone wielders, Yelp is no stranger and has become an essential tool. In Q2 2012, Yelp received traffic of 78 million unique visits, while users contribute 30 million reviews. Of these reviews 23% consist of restaurants.

The research phase continues with a wide array of websites and apps that have painstakingly collected, organized, and made available large catalogs of menus from surrounding restaurants. MenuPages collect and update thousands of menus (monthly) from nearly 30,000 restaurants in eight major markets. The interface is clean and simple while provides filters such as neighborhoods, price ranges, take out and list of other features. MenuPages also features the option to order directly through Seamless, the largest online food ordering company.

While the majority of restaurants accept walk-ins, operating the back of house becomes much less of a wild card if patrons develop the habit of making reservations before they dine. Digital reservation services, such as OpenTable, have streamlined the process to book your table for available time slots. A one-two combination partnership with Yelp, OpenTable is the reigning champion in the digital reservation service for restaurants. Having grown their customer base to over 13,000 restaurants in 50 states and multiple countries, it is hard to imagine there would be an emerging challenger. 

SeatMe, a San Francisco startup, has begun to step up to the plate and take a bite of that market share. SeatMe allows management of reservations, guests, and staff floor plans straight from a tablet or smart device. SeatMe’s guestbook also tracks unique schedules, performances, and tastes with nice design, easy usability, and good integration. SeatMe does not provide a stark distinction from OpenTable, but there are a host of differences as an alternative to look out for.

The inaction of waiting in line to be seated has even taken a turn for the tech as select restaurants have adopted a waiting list management system. NoWait is a Pittsburgh based startup that has developed an iPad app where customers may leave a name and number with the front of house, or host, and opt into receiving a text message when their table is ready. Customers can also check their status in line through a provided link via text message where they can access, “What’s My Place”, in the line. Acceptance of the NoWait system ideally organizes hosting duties in a manner where customers can inquire where there their position is in line without inundating the host or hostess with line status updates.

Once seated, the item selection has also stepped in to the technology retrofit. Restaurants are opting to do away with physical paper menus with tablet and smart device interfaces. Plate replaces a paper wine list or entire menu with a software format displayed on tablets. These “smart menus” are fully customizable to restaurants that have adopted the Plate platform, and can display notes, photos, and even pairings of particular wines to food items. Plate reports that with a few extra minutes playing with the menu can increase a diner’s order by 10-15%. 

For restaurants with a budget and cannot afford to distribute upwards of 10 tablets at any given time, SecondMenu offers a similar experience. Instead SecondMenu presents a restaurant's menu through the diner’s own smartphone. The SecondMenu web app is not activated via native apps which must be downloaded from an app store; rather it is through visiting secondmenu.com/restaurantsname or more easily in the form of a QR code.

Alternative payment methods have also managed to make its mark in efforts to accelerate the checkout process. With increasing support for NFC, or Near Field Communication, customers can simply tap their smart devices or use an app to pay using Google Wallet, PayPal, LevelUp, Square, or a slew of emerging payment services. Experimentation with BitCoin has also been recorded, in such with a restaurant in Berlin. Room 77, located in Berlin, serves Southwestern American fare, from burgers to burritos. The decors of the restaurant are reflections of a Texan steakhouse that we are all familiar with. 

One differentiation that Room 77 has over any other restaurant in Germany is that it is the only restaurant in Germany that accepts BitCoin. “When someone pays with by Bitcoin, either through a computer or smart phone, the Bitcoin is sent encrypted to ensure it can't be hacked. There are no transaction fees, and you can exchange a Bitcoin for real currency.”

There are a wide array of tools and new technology to incorporate in order to excite customers, while also differentiating your restaurant from conventional competitors. Adopting new methods to streamline management, or keep customers engaged, can improve the overall dining experience for patrons as well as the staff.

About the Author

Phil Ng is a Social Media Analyst at IIR USA with a specialized focus on technology and technology culture. He may be reached at PNg@iirusa.com.

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Cashless Squares Up At Starbucks

(Photo: BetaNews.com)

A typical encounter at the cash register consists of either fumbling with cash and change, or pulling out your credit card, swipe it, wait for an authorization, followed by a signing of a console or receipt. An alternative payment method has been emerging in small, and micro, businesses. 

These alternative payment methods will be more apparent in coming months as a big deal has been struck by caffeine distribution giant, Starbucks, and mobile payment startup, Square.

In early August, Starbucks has struck a deal and will be investing $25 million to outfit a network of 7000 participating stores with the mobile payment system, Square. Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, notes that, “the smartphone is the primary device in our lives.” This deal will provide Starbucks with a significant discount on credit card processing fees. Traditional credit card processing methods required businesses to pay the credit card company 2.5-5% plus equipment rental and usage charges. Square on the other hand charges a flat 2.75% with free equipment, in the form of a dongle that attaches via headphone jack on any smartphone or tablet.

In 2009, Jack Dorsey, founder of Twitter, took a leap in to innovating the mobile payment space. With a simple philosophy, “everyone should be able to accept credit cards. It should be easy and free to get set up, it should use simple technology people already own, and, most importantly, it should instantly adapt to any size business”.

Square consists of four major components: a card reader, Pay With Square app, Square Register, and a Square Card Reader. The card reader is a plastic device which plugs into the audio jack of an iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Android based mobile phones. This allows any smartphone to be used as a credit card swiping machine. Pay With Square is an app which allows customers check in a Square enabled business and set up tabs and pay with their names. It also enables them to receive electronic receipts. The Square Register is available for the iPad and transforms it into a credit card management system. Square Card Reader is another app available free of cost for iOS and Android, and is the actual interface that is utilized by the business to manage payments made via the card reader or Pay With Square app.

Previously focused around aiding small and micro businesses, with this $25 million investment from Starbucks, Square has raked in $200 million in new funding, positioning Square with a $3.25 billion valuation. As of March, Square has processed $4 billion a year in mobile payments transactions in this year alone through its 1 million registered merchants. 

With well-established companies, such as PayPal, Google Wallet, Intuit, LevelUp, and dozens others, fighting to gain market share in the space of mobile payments, the addition to the 7000 stores that have been added through the Starbucks deal, Square has taken a huge lead ahead of their growing field of competition.

The exposure provided through Starbucks to spotlight an seamless alternative payment method will greatly expand the emerging cashless zeitgeist. Expect to see more alternative payment methods at an ever growing number businesses, from your corner store to one of the thousands of Starbucks coffee shops.

About the Author


Phil Ng is a Social Media Analyst at IIR USA with a specialized focus on technology and technology culture. He may be reached at PNg@iirusa.com.

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iPhone and iPad Users Send and Receive Money with Prepaid MasterCard

This post on PCWorld highlights how MasterCard's new MoneySend application will allow iPad and iPhone users to send and receive money using the phone or tablet. For the time-being, the application will only work in the US and payments can range from paying a babysitter to paying back loans.

In order for MoneySend to work it has to be linked to a compatible prepaid account and users will also need a mobile phone number. There are a lot of opportunities in the mobile money space and it seems like companies are finally starting to understand this concept. Looking forward to seeing what else is in store for mobile users!

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