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.

Out-of-stock situations

Empty shelves are a simple problem, and yet are still a painfully common occurrence in retail.  In a survey by Elastic Path, it was found that 55% of shoppers surveyed had experienced an issue with out of stock inventory. Is it then any wonder then that ecommerce is putting pressure on brick-and-mortar stores?

As obvious as it might sound, a product can only be bought if it’s on the shop-floor. If replenishment isn’t automated or falls victim to human error, stores can be temporarily faced with unnecessary out of stock situations that damage both sales and reputation. This problem is often a subtle one, with stores and retailers having no way of observing the true level of item availability.

With a cloud-based RFID platform that utilises the Internet of Things, on-floor availability becomes much easier to manage, significantly reducing out-of-stock situations by up to 50%. The main way this is achieved is through fast and accurate stocktakes and automated replenishment processes. Store staff can now perform stock takes of an entire store (50,000 items) in just 25 minutes to a level of 99% accuracy.

This full and accurate view of store stock combats out-of-stocks in two ways. Firstly, the visibility of stock provides store staff to easily monitor stock levels. More advanced RFID systems like the Detego platform can not only operate in real-time and provide replenishment alerts, but can they can also use machine learning to suggest optimised replenishment advice, set on either a set planogram or an AI-optimised one.

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.

Limited Customer service

When discussing disruption and new technologies, its easy to forget about core principles and traditional strengths, but technology should be built with those in mind. For retail stores, that means customer service. This remains a key part of physical stores’ USP today, but with the demand for store associates’ time being severe, these traditional strengths can sometimes be left behind.

In studies by Elastic path it was found that 42% of shoppers surveyed said they’d had an issue with long wait times for customer service, suggesting that something new is required to stop what was once a core strength of stores becoming a friction point for customers.

RFID platforms meet this demand in two different ways. First and foremost, is simply the fact that RFID operations are much leaner and less labour intensive, for example it cuts cycle count times by up to 96%. This has the simple yet effective result of drastically decreasing the amount of time retail staff have to spend on manual processes like replenishment, therefore freeing up a significant amount of staff time to be spent elsewhere with customers.

The other significant ways RFID can assist customer service are the platforms and features that can be built around the technology. Mobile chatbots can assist customers with queries about item availability and available sizes, thanks to the real-time item transparency produced by RFID. In the fashion industry, Smart-Mirrors can do this whilst also reducing the friction points associated with changing rooms, as they can provide information from within the fitting room and can also be fitted with features to call store assistants to bring any items required to the fitting room.

Did we spark your interest?

The ‘Golden Quarter of Retail’ is one of the most profitable periods of the year, but the cost of living crisis could mean retailers struggle in 2022. What can be done?
Are you already planning your 2023 retail operations strategy? This is how you could future-proof your operations with the help of RFID for retail.

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.

Enter the digital store

 

With customers being more connected than ever and used to the experience they can have shopping online, it’s time for brick-and-mortar stores to take some lessons and adapt. This shift is well underway, and as more brands continue to adapt one thing is becoming clear, digital doesn’t just mean online anymore.

Thanks to the Internet of Things, it’s now possible to digitise every single item in a store, in conjunction with tracking technology such as RFID. This allows retailers to leverage their most important asset, their merchandise, with greater precision.

For example, let’s present an all-too-familiar scenario.

You are looking to buy a new pair of shoes. You’ve decided to purchase them in-store because you want them today and need to make sure the fit is right. Before going to the store, you checked on the store’s website to check if they had them in stock in your size, but it didn’t say. After failing to find them in the store, you ask a store associate who offers to look in the back. You then wait several minutes, for them to return empty-handed, and offer their apologies.

There are several stages where this scenario could have been avoided with the application of the IoT. If every item is digitised and traced effectively, not only can stores know exactly what’s in stock, but retailers can share this information with their customers, and offer them more options like click and reserve and more.

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.

Did we spark your interest?

The ‘Golden Quarter of Retail’ is one of the most profitable periods of the year, but the cost of living crisis could mean retailers struggle in 2022. What can be done?
Are you already planning your 2023 retail operations strategy? This is how you could future-proof your operations with the help of RFID for retail.

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.

Lacking item visibility is a massive problem in the fashion industry, and almost all retailers suffer with lost profits because of it:

  • If the article is not on the sales floor, it cannot be sold
  • If no one knows that the article is in the stockroom, on display in the shop window or in the changing room, it cannot be sold
  • If the sales person cannot give the customer information on the availability of an article immediately, a sale is missed and the customer is disappointed
  • If the click & reserve inventory is not kept in sync with the store inventory, the reserved article cannot be sold
  • If the article surprisingly “reappears” during inventory, for example someone finds it in an unopened box, it’s too late
  • If there’s no item visibility in the individual channels, then flexible redistribution will not work

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

Intelligent Merchandise Distribution

 

One is always wiser after the fact, for example at the end of the fiscal year or of a collection season, retailers know which items sold well in different stores and which did not. But then it’s too late. The merchandise ends up in the factory outlet store and eventually sold at discounted prices, the amount written off remains high, sales stagnate, etc.

However, retailers should immediately know which articles are sold well in which locations. Also, information on items that need to be reordered as well as the prevailing aging structure of articles at item-level per store is needed. To take the right decisions, it would be wise to have access to reliable real-time data in forms of dependable analysis and clear recommendations.

Actively manage your network of stores using real-time data:

  • Real-time control over inventory and more efficient replenishment
  • Quicker reordering
  • Reduction in reserve stock
  • Less merchandise in the channels, combined with greater inventory accuracy
  • Smaller lot sizes, more precise control over the flow of merchandise
  • Selling out collection merchandise at the planned margin, not via outlet sales
  • Fast recommendations for activities to optimise the store
  • Real-time dashboards promote the right decisions being made
  • Rapid relocation of sale merchandise between the stores

Did we spark your interest?

The ‘Golden Quarter of Retail’ is one of the most profitable periods of the year, but the cost of living crisis could mean retailers struggle in 2022. What can be done?
Are you already planning your 2023 retail operations strategy? This is how you could future-proof your operations with the help of RFID for retail.

Retail software specialists, Detego, have presented their ground-breaking methodology for in-store product recommendations, helping bring the same quality of cross-selling over from e-commerce and into the physical store. The new AI-based recommendation engine will enable retailers to provide personalized product suggestions utilizing data unique to store locations and point of sale information, without the need for identifying customer profiles.

Cross-selling through related product recommendations has always been a huge strength of e-commerce, with 35% of Amazon’s revenue generated by its recommendation engine (source). In recent years, innovations in RFID-based solutions such as smart fitting rooms and mobile chatbots have opened the doors to automated product recommendations within physical stores. Whilst the technology is now available, there is still one more hurdle between Brick and Mortar stores and effective cross-selling. This is namely the fact that the best recommender systems require vast amounts of both personal and aggregated data to provide effective suggestions, and whilst this is at a surplus in e-commerce, physical stores traditionally struggle with data being limited as well as sparse.

Speaking at the ACM UMAP 2019 in Cyprus in June, data scientists from Detego, who specialise in RFID-based software solutions for retailers, presented their proposed method of data-manipulation for in-store recommender systems with a paper titled: ‘Beggars Can’t Be Choosers: Augmenting Sparse Data for Embedding-Based Product Recommendations in Retail Stores’. The approach involves an alternative algorithm that leverages shopping-baskets and common-item combinations combined with point of sale information. Detego says this allows retailers to provide targeted recommendations with a 6.9% increase in quality, aimed at individual stores, without having to maintain separate models for each location. When combined with the technology to deliver these product recommendations, retailers could see a substantial increase in sales in Brick and Mortar stores, whilst customers will see a more connected and engaging in-store experience, as Detego continues to bridge the gap between online and the physical store.

“Customers who bought this also bought…” is no longer a phrase reserved exclusively for customers of e-commerce platforms. Due to the adoption of RFID-based technologies, such as Detego’s Smart Fitting Room, personalised recommendations can also be presented to customers of brick and mortar stores. Moreover, Detego’s AI-based recommendation engine is tailored towards the specific requirements of fashion retail stores, such as fast-changing and varying product assortments.’ says Matthias Wölbitsch, Detego data scientist. 

With Detego now successfully rolling out the Smart Fitting Room application alongside their real-time inventory management software, this latest improvement is another opportunity for retailers to evolve their stores for the future.

Did we spark your interest?

The ‘Golden Quarter of Retail’ is one of the most profitable periods of the year, but the cost of living crisis could mean retailers struggle in 2022. What can be done?
Are you already planning your 2023 retail operations strategy? This is how you could future-proof your operations with the help of RFID for retail.

Why should fashion retailers deal with IoT? What problems could be solved in the stores? What results can be expected? As a retail decision maker you need to deal with IoT if increased article availability, exact inventories, interaction with customers and operational excellence in your stores are set as objectives. This practice-oriented guide sheds light on the triangle of “customer”, “processes in the store” and “deployment of new technologies” and shows how the use of IoT benefits retailers and ultimately the customer. The whitepaper reveals the formula for the perfect customer relationship, based on the right technologies and processes and shows how retailers can apply them to their business.

Detego, a market leader in real-time business intelligence for the fashion retail industry, is releasing its latest whitepaper, providing valuable information on the use of Internet of Things (IoT) in fashion stores. Titled as “The perfect customer relationship – How fashion stores leverage Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to put the customer in focus of all activities “, fashion retailers get a practice-oriented guide that highlights the most important aspects such as: Why should fashion retailers deal with IoT?, What problems could be solved in the stores?, What results can be expected? Retail decision makers need to deal with IoT if increased article availability, exact inventories, interaction with customers and operational excellence in the stores are set as objectives. The 35-page guide sheds light on the triangle of “customer”, “processes in the store” and “deployment of new technologies” and shows how the use of IoT benefits retailers and ultimately the customer. The whitepaper is available for download on the Detego website.

Detego discusses the various IoT technologies as a way for retailers to realize the perfect customer relationship. Based on customer’s needs, the practical tips are divided into 1. Self-service in the store: The customer as the main actor, 2. Brand Ambassador: The customer as influencer, 3. Co-Value Creation: The customer as partner and 4. Predictive Analytics: The Customer as creator of the future. All four subchapters describe what retailers can do to connect with the customer and enable an interaction in the store.

In addition, infrastructural prerequisites such as the optimal process support through IoT technology and in particular support for the sales personnel are discussed. With the help of IoT, retailers and their store personnel gain valuable data that is translated into recommendations for concrete action to take. In addition to the operational excellence in the store, it is primarily about the new shopping experience for the customer. The whitepaper reveals the formula for the perfect customer relationship, based on the right technologies and processes and shows how retailers can apply them to their business.

 

Download Whitepaper

The one-size-fits-all sales approach is outdated. In the store, intelligent systems are needed to provide the customer with a personalised experience. Key elements for this are individual and personalised recommendations from the current product range and simplified processes that give stores associates more time for the customers.

In this webinar you find out how “Data Driven Empowerment” activates cross-selling potential, increases the number of articles per receipt and finally leads to satisfied customers and happy retailers.

All store assistants are busy at the moment and another customer enters the store. She has only one question: “Is the skirt in the shop window also available in XS?”– It’s not going to take long, however, nobody is available to assist. She briefly looks around on the sales floor…finds nothing and therefore leaves the store.

Increase service quality in the store with Artificial Intelligence

With digital sales assistants, fashion retailers no longer have to keep consumers waiting but offer them a convenient service. The in-store chatbot serves consumers via smartphone by answering initial questions such as: Is the article still available in my size? Where can I find it? How expensive is it? What accessories go with it? If an article is out of stock, Detega makes suggestions, e.g. to have the desired article shipped from another store to the customer´s preferred store or even directly to her home.

Recommendations for more consumer engagement

If a store assistant recommends additional articles to a customer, it could easily backfire as unwanted assistance can be considered intrusive and the customer might avoid visiting the store in future. However, if an in-store chatbot recommends an article that the customer clearly perceives as a possible additional purchase, he/she will have no problem considering the recommendation or rejecting it by simply swiping it away and look at other articles that he/she likes better. Chatbots enable a non-binding yet personalised dialogue – just as customers are familiar with online shopping.

Detega Video – Initial dialouge before sales personnel takes over

The use of in-store chatbots. Benefits for retailers:

Detega…

  • starts a dialogue with the consumer via smartphone as desired
  • notifies store personnel to bring certain articles to consumers
  • pushes purchases through „live“  discounts
  • brings online shopping experience into the store
  • activates cross-selling potential by letting customers browse through the entire product range
  • recommends articles that are actually available in the store
  • supports as well as unburdens store personnel
  • deepens the brand experience
  • compiles data on customer clusters and their preferred article combinations
  • continues to interact with customers after they leave the store to inform them about special offers, etc.
  • offers after-sales services to customers such as reservations in the store

The use of in-store chatbots. Benefits for customers:

Detega…

  • helps with the decision-making process using information
  • provides useful product recommendations such as: popular items, bestsellers, reduced articles and product variants
  • accurate product recommendations due to Artificial Intelligence
  • offers self-service via customers‘ smartphone
  • offers online shopping experience in-store
  • answers immediately – customers are not kept waiting
  • gives information in real-time
  • notifies the store personnel to bring desired articles directly to the customer
  • allows customers to browse through the full product range
  • guarantees an unforgettable shopping experience
  • passes on customers to sales personnel when required

‘At the Point-of-Sale, the chatbot serves digitally-oriented target groups via their smartphones and passes them on to the sales personnel for individual service whenever the sales process requires it.’

Did we spark your interest?

Friendly sales personnel, stores in top locations and an appealing product assortment are not enough anymore for successful fashion retailing. Today’s consumers expect more: stores as temples of experiences, sales personnel that understands or even anticipates their needs and frictionless shopping across all channels. The use of IoT technologies in brick-and-mortar stores will support retailers to meet these expectations. But how much consumer engagement does it take to turn “today’s shoppers” into “loyal customers of tomorrow”? A search for traces…

 

What are consumers actually looking for?

That is quite simple: articles in the right sizes. Otherwise they are leaving the store without buying anything. Assuming that consumer engagement requires a proactive, not reactive sales culture, retailers need to start rethinking their business approach. This involves systems that provide high inventory accuracy and article availability, real-time information capability, and a single stock view across the entire store network including franchise and wholesales locations as well as online shops. In addition, it requires a customer-focused and empowered store personnel, equipped with smart devices and real-time information, to provide consumers with instant information about desired articles and the capability to reserve these articles or to deliver them directly to the customer’s home. It’s all about an effective way of interaction that is leading to a long-term customer loyalty. If the store staff is proactively supported by the in-store system by means of e.g. intelligent stock takes or smart replenishment processes, retailers – and ultimately the customer – benefit from high inventory accuracy and end-to-end article availability. This provides the base for a successful consumer engagement and is available with the Detego InStore Lean Edition.

 

What exactly do consumers expect?

A lot: individual and innovative shopping experiences. Spoilt by the convenience and services of E-Commerce, consumers’ expectations towards their shopping experience in brick-and-mortar stores are ever more stringent. Omnichannel services such as click-and-collect, return-to-store, ship-from-store and online availability check per store are part of these expectations and have to run smoothly. The Detego InStore Full Edition provides retailers the full-service package for their omnichannel business.

 

How does interaction with consumers look like?

Very versatile and via different touchpoints that customers choose, e.g. via their smartphone right after entering the store. The chatbot Detega gets in touch and supports with article and availability information, introduces the new collection and is also a virtual guide beyond the actual store visit. The Smart Fitting Room is also adapting to consumer requirements in an entirely experience-oriented way. It assembles preferred article variations and optimises the fitting service in close collaboration with the store personnel who brings desired articles from the sales floor or back room to the cabin when requested by consumers via the Smart Fitting Room application. Detego InChannels provides retailers with various opportunities for interaction with consumers that activate customer potential.

The Detego Suite supports retailers in meeting current and future challenges and keeps the store staff ready for increasingly demanding consumers while making the brick-and-mortar business run more efficiently.

Image source: IStock, Copyright: pixdeluxe

Did we spark your interest?

Retail software vendor, Detego, will be showcasing its latest digital in-store solutions for retailers at NRF, the world’s largest retail industry show on January 14-16 in New York, as a co-exhibitor on SAP´s booth # 2733. These include a new mobile solution for retailers, offering faster and cheaper access to the benefits of digital connectivity, as well as Detega, a new chatbot that supports customers throughout their entire shopping experience.

Detego’s software, in combination with tiny radio-frequency identity (RFID) tags on every item, makes it easier for retailers to boost inventory accuracy and on-shelf availability to levels consistently above 98 percent – a huge increment compared to the industry average of 75 percent. While Detego’s chatbot opens up the entire store chain and digital catalogue to consumers.

Detego says that it has decided to release a leaner version of its full product suite so that retailers can quickly experience the advantages of RFID-enabled merchandise management, which include reducing the number of markdowns and fewer gaps on shelves.

“The launch of Detego’s InStore Lean Edition provides a quick-start solution that’s productive within hours, not weeks or months, without the complexities typical of most IT implementations,” says Detego’s CTO, Michael Goller. “Fully hosted and managed in the cloud, it is being targeted at retail chains, pop-up stores, franchisees and brand store owners who want to benefit from modern in-store technologies without the need to invest in fully fledged, large-scale IT projects.”

The new software is highly modular and scalable, meaning that retailers can start with just a few stores and scale to hundreds or even thousands within a short period of time. Additional features can be added at later time, including retail analytics, omni-channel services such as “click&collect”, and other consumer engagement and supply chain applications.

The  fully hosted and managed SaaS (software-as-a-service) offering that runs on SAP’s Cloud Platform enables retailers to seamlessly integrate systems across various applications. The combination of the SAP Cloud Platform and the analytics and merchandise software from Detego provides the basis for customer-centric processes and services, as well as real-time applications in omni-channel retailing. In the light of ongoing consolidations within retail chains, this gives fashion retailers a competitive advantage and differentiating element for their brick & mortar stores.

Detego’s new chatbot can be used at any time on a customer’s smartphone to help provide more pertinent product information or recommendations, based on real-time data on actual availability and customer preferences. The built-in machine-learning and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities adapt to the ever changing dynamics of fashion retail, which means that results get better and better over time.