Retail must adopt technology faster

There is a lot of technology available that can make life easier for the customer at the point of sale. Retailers must make the most of it, now

At the tenth edition of India Retail Forum last month, an entire stream was carved out for discussions on the usage of technology in retail, christened the 'Future Shop'. However, the stream probably took its mandate a tad too seriously. For, through the many sessions, one only kept hearing about the various technologies that would one day make the retail floor tech savvy for the consumers. All the conversation bearing reference to both present day and technology revolved around issues of shrinkage reduction, data mining, supply chain optimisation and so on.

Earlier this year, at another retail sector event, in a report released by TCS and the Retailers Association of India, there is a mention of the retail sector's lagging status in terms of technology adoption for enhancing the in-store customer experience. The common theme at both these events begs the question if the shop of the future will stay indefinitely in the future? For how long will the retail sector be dogged by the 'nascent' tag?

In sharp contrast to such hesitation on the part of larger retailers are cases of smaller regional players that are taking the lead in making things easy for the customer with a little help from technology that is already available. Take Pune-based Chitale Bandhu, a sweet and savoury items chain, for instance. The chain has garnered attention for introducing radio frequency identification (RFID) tags in its stores. This is how it works: the customer enters the store, is given an RFID tag that can be used at each counter. On reaching the billing station, she simply hands over the tag and the bill is generated. This quickens the process of billing, increases footfalls and lowers manpower requirement.

Let's look outside the country now. In Australia, payments processing company MasterCard has worked on an application called QkR (pronounced quicker) to solve a problem faced by cinema goers: how to circumvent the long queues to get popcorn and cola during the interval? A viewer can use this app to place her order, pay using card and receive the order at her seat.

Adoption of this simple solution, however, comes with a fair share of practical difficulties. Like poor telecom network reception in a closed space like the cinema hall or the menu displayed and the list of items available not matching. Fair. But can the cinema hall afford to be complacent and refrain from using available technology for long? There is no guarantee that competition will think likewise and let an opportunity pass by. Similarly, if a small player like Chitale Bandhu can introduce RFID tags to smoothen the billing process, can't larger players adopt similar innovations? Or probably go a step further and say, introduce self checkout kiosks for a certain number of items?

Something else that many retailers abroad are using actively is near field communication (NFC) or quick response (QR) codes. Consumers can use their smartphones along with NFC-enabled communication pieces or QR codes to interact with the promotional material. A couple of years ago, lifestyle retailer, Shoppers Stop used QR codes in its advertisements to push discounts during the sale season. It wasn't something that was expected to bring in the numbers. It kept the interaction fresh." Two years hence with a more broad-based smartphone penetration, one rarely sees even a poster with a QR code with a surprise offer.

While closing the session on technology innovations in retail, Ajit Joshi, CEO & MD at Infiniti Retail that operates a national chain of multi-brand electronics stores under the brand name Croma, spoke about how even to this day the neighbourhood chaiwala uses a chopdi (notebook) and pencil to keep accounts for each customer, providing an accurate figure at the end of the month. His point: the traditional method is working just fine for them; so why change it. Extending the same logic, retailers must adopt technology when required and not because everyone else is doing it.

Point taken. Yes, consumers don't want hype; they want help. They want help solving their problems, both significant and commonplace. They want help in improving the experience while shopping. The thing is, they are smarter than ever, and you have to meet them on their terms, with marketing that's smarter, too. If you don't they will drift.