Thinking mobile-first and putting mobility at the heart of strategy, operations, and the user experience can solve many of the challenges that retailers face.
Retail was an early adopter of mobile solutions for workflows like inventory management. Larger stores used walkie-talky radios for associate-to-associate communications. Now, retail technology is following the evolution of consumer devices and consolidating multiple workflows into single devices. In our personal lives, many of us once owned a digital camera, MP3 player, and a cell phone. Now all three are consolidated in modern smartphones. For retail, a smartphone like the Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro or a tablet such as the Galaxy Tab S8 works well for inventory scanning, mobile point-of-sale (mPOS), collaborating with coworkers, helping answer customer questions, and showing them more choices. Not only does it drive down the total cost of ownership because you aren't buying multiple devices, but it removes friction from the associate journey when they're no longer juggling so many. An associate can carry one device for their entire shift and doesn't have to share devices like scanners with others. It's faster and more productive.
Mobile devices free up associates to move wherever they need to be without leaving their tools behind. Creating great customer experiences today means meeting customers where they are. You must be able to serve them at the "point of conversation"—wherever that is. That journey starts with digital, but when they transition to brick and mortar, mobile devices mean you can offer complete service anywhere on the property—in the aisles or curbside.
Line busting Checking out with purchases is often the most friction-filled part of the customer experience for both digital and brick and mortar. In stores, shoppers get frustrated when there are lines. That's magnified when the person in front of them is someone who still writes checks or has their credit card declined. An associate with a mobile device can take payment anywhere. Receipts can be sent by email or produced by a mobile printer.
Commerce everywhere One of the challenges of BOPIS is that customers don't come inside stores, and the opportunity for them to browse and buy adjacent merchandise is lost. With a tablet, associates can show customers suggestions at curbside and potentially upsell them.
Enhanced one-on-one service An associate with a mobile device is an empowered associate that can deliver super service to customers. There's something social about interacting with a store employee, so if you can make that a good experience, you win and give people a reason to come inside. Customers often use their own mobile devices for research, but the associate may have newer and better information. It makes them knowledgeable and super-helpful when they have fast access to product information the shopper doesn't have. They can transact where that shopper is making that decision and not losing a sale because they couldn't give an answer. Associates have the resources to do their job. They're not frustrated, and you're giving the customer something rewarding for engaging with you.
Clienteling Taking one-on-one service a step further, if the customer has an online account with the business, an associate with a mobile device can use data around past purchases to offer a premium experience. They can interact more effectively and either pull up suggestions on the device or pair it with large screens and high-quality displays to really take service to the next level. Tablets like Samsung's S8 come with a stylus that the associate can use to sketch ideas or flip through pages of product information.
Mobile devices are powerful data collection devices that help retailers improve workflows, efficiency, and customer experiences. Digital platforms like websites and apps deliver a lot of data on customer behavior and interests, but that can be augmented with data from mobile devices in brick-and-mortar locations. Location information can track the effectiveness of floor plans and displays. Counting the steps associates have to take can lead to placing inventory in ways that boost productivity. Devices can also show hotspots for where point of conversation activity is happening, which can drive decisions about how to arrange product adjacencies and displays, etc.
Changing the Economics of the Store Floor in Retail
By enabling data-fueled, knowledgeable and personalized service, mobile devices are critical to transformation in retail. Mobile devices help store associates deliver the elevated customer experience retailers know they need, while acting as powerful drivers of new revenue and customer loyalty.
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Fast data processing also improves the seamlessness of omnichannel experiences—particularly around inventory management. With stores offering curbside pickup or using floorspace as a distribution point for local delivery of online purchases, it's now common to have both a customer and an associate looking for the same item at the same time. When the customer can't find it, they're upset. Stockouts cost retailers 4 percent of sales every year. Associates using mobile devices for stock picking and inventory control paired with technology that quickly updates inventory levels across all platforms helps get on top of the problem and lessen customer frustration.
Using mobile devices that employees are already familiar with, like smartphones and tablets, means the learning curve isn't as steep when they start. The software they need for their job may be new, but they're already comfortable with the device and operating system. Features like voice commands make devices even more user-friendly. Learning is more intuitive, and they can often troubleshoot and problem-solve for themselves without assistance. It's a better experience that not only attracts and retains but means they get up to speed faster.
While retailers have long wish lists when it comes to technology, IT budgets aren't necessarily getting any bigger. Mobile devices can help with that. Not only does consolidating workflows into multi-use devices cut down on the need to spend on individual solutions, but ruggedized consumer devices like smartphones and tablets are often cheaper. Instead of buying expensive equipment that must be shared, companies can more easily afford to put a device in the hands of every associate, which increases their productivity and customer-service power.
We've been talking about the potential of 5G—the latest generation of wireless—for years, but the networks are now widely available, and Samsung devices for sale today have it—or will soon. It means new advantages for retailers. In BOPIS—for example—a store's Wi-Fi network might not be reliable in the parking lot. 5G can make ultra-high-speed connectivity seamless.
Where 5G has a huge impact is in data. It's not only faster but brings lower latency—the time it takes a packet of information to make the round trip between two points. That's important if you want to leverage high-speed inventory tracking or technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR). AI can create better customer experiences by offering more refined purchase suggestions that an associate can pass along to the customer. Say a product is missing a price tag or a bar code, AI can identify the product using the camera in a device. In a clienteling context, AR can show customers more product information, what they'd look like wearing clothes or accessories, or simply show them exactly where to find something in a store in real-time.
