Category: Article

The UK’s first completely Cashier-less grocery store 

The British supermarket Sainsbury’s has recently announced the end of its cashier-less store trial, concluding that ‘it’s clear that not all our customers are ready for a totally till-free store.’

The initiative involved the UK’s first till-free grocery store, utilising a mobile app with smartshop scan, a pay & go technology where customers can scan items with their mobile’s cameras as they move through the store.

Whilst there is huge potential in this technology which Sainsbury’s are trailblazing for, the trial did certainly have some initial setbacks. The pilot store experienced long lines at the help kiosk, due to many customers wanting to pay with cards and cash.

In response to this, Sainsbury’s have added a manned till and two traditional self-checkout tills to support the store’s mobile payments. Whilst this does mean the concept of a completely cashier-less store has been shelved for now, the mobile-scan option was clearly a sucess, with Sainsbury’s  adding the payment option to eight additional stores.

Due to the ease and accuracy of RFID stock counts, retailers using the technology can reliably achieve full item-level inventory visibility across their stores and supply chains. Crucially, due to the speed of RFID inventory counts, this can be achieved whilst actively reducing the labour intensity of operational processes. This accurate and up-to-the-minute inventory information is the backbone of so many of RFID’s uses in retail (including many of the points discussed below).

One crucial aspect of modern retail that relies on having accurate inventory visibility is Omnichannel retailing. With a complete and up-to-date view of stock across all channels, it is possible to open up the inventory of your entire store network to customers, providing a better customer experience and increasing sales.

Benefits of item-level inventory visibility

• Improved shipping accuracy
• Excellent baseline for advanced omnichannel retailing
• Produces more data for better insights
• Reduces inventory size (and therefore working capital) significantly
• Increased customer satisfaction from reduced out-of-stocks and a more connected experience

Ensuring a high product availability is vital to maintaining retail sales. Despite this, low on-floor product availability and out-of-stocks are an alarmingly common problem in the industry, causing unnecessary lost sales as a result of inefficient replenishment processes and stock inaccuracy. This latter cause is practically removed completely by RFID, with typical stock accuracy being increased to 99% from the standard 60-80%.

Additionally, RFID platforms provide an unbeatable basis for efficient and reliable replenishment processes. The main advantage these platforms have is the item-level and real-time inventory visibility gained from regular 99% accuracy stock counts.

How does RFID increase product availability?

• Makes regular cycle counts possible with efficient RFID stock reads
• Removes stock inaccuracy (from 70-80% to 99%)
• Creates complete item-level view of stock between both backroom and sales floor
• Item visibility makes replenishment easier and more accurate
• Real-time view allows for replenishment alerts for when items/sizes are running low
• Item-level data from RFID allows for advanced, even AI-assisted planograms for individual stores

We’ve discussed the difference item-level visibility makes for stores, but when it comes to supply chains the benefits are just as great. With RFID, inbound and outbound reads become far easier, and are done on an individual item level rather than SKU (stock keeping unit). This means each item is accounted for at each step of the supply chain, rather than just shipments or boxes.

This level of stock visibility also drastically reduces the rate of shipping errors or picking mistakes as they are detected by RFID readers and corrected by warehouse staff during exception handling or outbound reads.

Additionally, the location or status of items and shipments are visible in real-time, so stores and DC’s can easily track shipments and know exactly what they will be receiving. This makes any individual item fully traceable, as time and dates of when the item passed each read point in the supply process can be stored.

Benefits of RFID in the supply chain:

• Item-level visibility across entire supply chain
• Trace items against individual shipments
• Smoother operational processes
• Track shipments for delivery
• 100% inbound and outbound shipping accuracy

The difference in process efficiency from using RFID in retail is extensive, at every end of retail, be it the factory or the shop floor. An RFID reader, regardless of whether its fixed or a handheld, can read hundreds of individual items at once. Crucially though, as each item has a unique ID, they can never be read more than once. The signals also do not require line of sight to be read.

Naturally, this makes RFID inventory counts and inbound/outbound checks incredibly fast and reliable. In the case of store inventories, RFID has been found to reduce cycle count times by a staggering 96%.  This therefore means they are far more convenient to perform and can be done multiple times in a week rather than a year.

Processes transformed by RFID:

• Cycle counts/inventories
• Fast & Efficient Inbound & Outbound reads
• RFID-enabled picking and packing
• Mobile guided replenishment from backroom to salesfloor

Analytics and data is one area that e-commerce is ahead of physical retail. This is largely due to the fact that everything online can be measured, whereas retailers don’t really know what’s happening with their stores and customers in any specific detail, and the stats and data they do collect are often historical and at risk of being outdated.

However, with RFID this can all change. The simplest and most effective use of the data allows retailers to better leverage their greatest assets; their products and their stores. Quality data and analytics can allow retailers to ensure merchandise is in the right place to be sold. Information on which stores are performing better or worse is a basic retail KPI, but with specific item data, RFID produces far more detailed insights. This includes how well individual items are doing in specific stores, right down to specifics such as which sizes of items are selling better where. Insights such as these are naturally actionable, meaning retailers can take steps to move or reinforce stock at specific stores.

Data insights and results possible with RFID:

• KPI based performance tracking
• Detailed merchandise data & Analytics
• Operational excellence
• Actionable recommendations
• Compliance tracking
• Eliminates reliance on historical data
• Predictive capabilities for inventory counts and merchandise management

There are many effects of RFID in retail that go beyond simple operational benefits to actively improve the customer experience. At the most basic level, this includes things already mentioned like increasing product availability, offering convenient omnichannel services and freeing up store associates to spend more time assisting customers.

However, because of the real-time inventory visibility it provides, RFID can go way beyond this in terms of improving the customer experience. For example, with reliable and up-to-the-minute stock information stores can utilise technologies like chatbots or smart fitting rooms to assist customers with their queries, supply information about other items or sizes available and even cross-sell to customers in the store.

What ways does RFID improve the customer experience?

• High product availability
• Store associates have more time for their customers
• Convenient omnichannel services
• A connected experience between online and offline
• AI-powered chatbots delivering assistance and product information via mobile.
• Smart fitting rooms providing a hugely improved fitting room experience.
• RFID-enabled Point of Sale – including self-checkout services

The age of digital disruption has caused a shift in both consumer expectations and the retail landscape as a whole. Naturally, many retailers have looked towards implementing new technologies in an attempt to either adapt to or capitalise on these changes. When researching new retail technologies, the focus should be on transforming the customer’s experience and eliminating existing friction points.

The question needs to be asked, is this directly solving a major problem for retail customers? In other words: Is there a demand for it? Focusing on the comparatively mundane details first needs to be a priority, as attention on what drives customer experience at the most basic level can be the difference between success and failure in the age of digital disruption.

One technology that consistently meets these demands is radio Frequency identification. RFID is a growing force in retail, with 69% of retailers around the world citing a significant level of RFID adoption. The technology involves tagging individual items of merchandise, like a barcode but entirely unique to the individual item that can be ‘read’ and tracked with ease. One of the most common business cases for the technology is the process accuracy and efficiency that it delivers, but the difference that RFID can make to the customer is not to be overlooked.

Disconnect between online & offline

The increasing influence of online and ecommerce is arguably the biggest driver of digital disruption in retail. The convenience and choice that shopping online offers has resulted in highly demanding modern customers. Whilst these days practically every brick-and-mortar retailer has expanded into e-commerce to meet these consumer demands, there is unfortunately a noticeable disconnect between many retailer’s online and offline shopping channels, damaging the customer experience despite best intentions.

The key to a good ‘omnichannel’ shopping experience is not to necessarily be everywhere, but to be seamless and flexible at every step of the shopping journey. Non pure-play retailers that can do this will have a competitive advantage, not least because of the choice they offer customers, but with features like click-and-collect and ship-from-store, they can offer an unmatchable level of flexibility whilst opening up the entire inventory network to all channels.

To be able to do this, retailers need a complete and real-time view of stock across their store network in all channels. RFID provides this through digitising stock (utilising the IoT) and tracing the movement of individual items in real-time. With this foundation, it is possible to build extensive and reliable omnichannel services, blending shopping channels and providing a flexible and convenient experience for customers. RFID is the backbone of strong omnichannel services such as this. In fact, 83% of RFID adopters offer three or more omnichannel fulfilment options compared to only 24% of non-adopters.

At its most basic level, this can include opening up stock transparency to customers so they can check availability of items online before coming into a store. The more advanced features include click-and-collect and ship-from-store, both of which provide a competitive edge against pure-play ecommerce, as customers get a more convenient and flexible shopping experience regardless of which ‘channels’ they use.

In recent years the digital age has shaken up retail in unprecedented fashion, and this trend looks sure to continue. One of the main causes of this change is the internet, not only the increasing influence of e-commerce but also the changing standards consumers are used to thanks to their near-constant access to the web. The new status quo of the digital world is connection and convenience, as modern customers have easy access to information and services on demand.

But is retail keeping up with this change? And what does it take for brick-and-mortar stores to meet these modern demands? Thankfully, the growth of retail technology means stores have more tools than ever to do so. Retailers need to look towards digital investment to reduce friction points and offer a more streamlined and connected shopping experience.

In other words, brick-and-mortar stores aren’t going anywhere, but they will have to evolve.

Stores as Digital hubs

With this baseline of technology providing a clear view of inventory across store networks, the natural next step is combining and unifying digital stores with the rest of the digital network, namely other stores and the e-commerce online store. After all, online is already digitised by nature, and having all stock across all networks digitised allows retailers to leverage their products far better to serve their customer’s needs.

Whilst omnichannel has become a bit of a buzzword, with the focus on connection and convenience for customers, features like click-and-collect and ship-from-store are essential for leveraging physical stores. When supported with appropriate technology like RFID, retailers can offer extensive omnichannel services thanks to a real-time view of stock and the ability to track and trace items across the supply chain.

Features like this go beyond levelling the playing field with e-commerce as they do something pure-play online retailers can’t, offering their customers more options and a flexible shopping experience.

If you are interesting in further exploring how digitisation improves the customer experience, download our free whitepaper on how fashion stores leverage The Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to put the customer in focus of all activities.

If you are interesting in further exploring how digitisation improves the customer experience, download our free whitepaper on how fashion stores leverage The Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to put the customer in focus of all activities.

(Originally published on Retail Technology Innovation Hub)

Digital stores are the stores of the future. This is because these days, with both fierce competition from e-commerce and customers with more options and expectations than ever before, nothing should be left to chance. Because a positive visit to a store becomes an experience that leaves a long-lasting impression.

Whilst store design and a customer-centric experience remain crucial, brands need to invest in technology to ensure stores can meet modern consumer’s expectations.

As more and more brands are competing for the shopping budget of fewer and fewer customers, the intention is to create customer loyalty towards the brand. To this end, the digitisation of stores creates a more seamless shopping experience and bridges the gap between online and offline shopping.

What is a Digital Store?

Maybe you’re thinking of high-tech stores loaded with interactive touchscreens, and while those stores do exist, the truth is more that stores are becoming increasingly digitalised on a back-end and operational level. This is a trend we see in business in general, improving efficiency by digesting processes or using intelligent software.

So, what does this look like for brick-and-mortar stores? A digital transformation of a store is largely centred around a stores core offering – it’s products. Technology is being used to digitise the way products are processed, with RFID stocktakes, and managed, with digital applications.

Stores not only digitise time-consuming manual processes such as stocktakes and replenishment, but they also digitise the view of stock itself. This means stores have reliable visibility on all store inventory, on an item-level.  This allows for omnichannel services like click-and-collect and ensures the store experience is optimised to a point that it consistently delivers – no operational mistakes and no more disappointing customers with unavailable products.

What are the advantages of Digitising Stores?

The Digital transformation of stores delivers benefits all across the value chain.

For store staff on an operational level, they spend less time performing manual administrative tasks like inbound order processing or stock management – reducing labour costs and freeing up staff to attend to customers.

The store itself benefits from an accurate inventory meaning quicker reordering, fewer out-of-stocks, and ultimately higher sales.

If we zoom out a level to look at a network of multiple digitised stores the retailer can use this real-time view of stock to make better decisions run a smoother supply chain and build a first-class omnichannel offering.

The customer enjoys a friction-less experience with fewer out-of-stocks, staff who know exactly what is available both in their store and online, and convenient purchasing options like click-and-collect.

Benefits for the store 

• Real-time control over inventory and more efficient replenishment
• Greater inventory accuracy
• Quicker reordering
• Reduction in reserve stock
• Increase in staff efficiency
• Increased sales

Benefits for the customer

• Reduces out-of-stocks, reduces disappointment
• Able to get accurate information on stock levels both online and in-store
• Convenient omnichannel features like click-and-collect
• Staff have more time and more information to assist customers with

The Detego Platform: A quick start to the digital store

The Detego Platform brings all of this together in an out-of-the-box solution, providing an easy and cost-effective fast track to the digital store.  It does so by utilising item-level RFID tagging combined with the Internet of Things (IoT), digitising store inventory via a mobile application.

By doing this the store knows exactly what merchandise they have, and more specifically what is in the backroom and on the sales floor. This increases inventory accuracy, on-floor availability and dramatically improves store efficiency. Additionally, as the Detego platform is built to fully integrate with existing tech like ERP systems, this real-time stock visibility can easily be made available to the customer including online stock enquiries, click and collect and click and reserve.

Just a moment, I have to check…

Making a great shopping experience can happen in seconds, but can also fail just as quickly. The customer who is ready to buy a desired article is often left standing in the aisle, being asked by the shop assistant to wait. He/she goes off to search for the article in the stockroom, perhaps call another location or check with the manager. If the article cannot be found, the sales interaction usually comes to an end with something like “Sorry, we don’t have it.”

The possibility that the desired item, say a skirt in size S, could be available in another store is something that the customer has to find out for themself. Of course they could try their luck online, and maybe even order it in the online shop if it’s still in stock.

That’s a shame. All that just happened because the shop assistant did not have the right information.

Getting the merchandise to where it is needed most

It’s the dream of every retailer: the merchandise offered is presented to precisely the customer who would like to buy it. With 5,000 articles in 700 stores in a variety of sizes, even the most experienced retailer can no longer make decisions by gut feeling.

• Sizes should not be evenly distributed among all stores
• Buffer stock should not clog up the stockroom
• Excess inventory that later has to be written off should simply not exist