Canadian Retailer - Store 2017 - 14

PARTNER MESSAGE MICROSOFT

THE PASSPORT TO IN-STORE
OMNICHANNEL
Leveraging the tech in consumers' hands for improved
engagement and experience
BY DAVE RODGERSON, Retail Industry Lead, Microsoft Canada

WHEN I studied at business school, one of
17%
the things I learned was that the best way to
make money is with other people's money.
The banks do this all the time, and they've
been very successful following this strategy. Reflecting on this I wondered if a similar approach might hold true in technology.
Rather than build my own technology for
shoppers in a retail context, was there a way
to leverage someone else's technology to
achieve the same end?
Research company IDC explains that a new generation of
shoppers are defined as the 5 'I' consumer. They are Instrumented, Interconnected, Informed, In-place and Immediate. And recent surveys show that 83 per cent of shoppers use their smartphones while shopping. Understanding this helped me connect
the dots between my idea about "borrowed technology" and the
way traditional retailers could embrace omnichannel.
Transformative tech

Imagine being able to receive an offer for a new salad dressing while you shop in the produce aisle. Or, tapping a shelf label
with your phone to see consumer reviews or a video of someone demonstrating the product before you decide to buy. This
takes in-store marketing to a new level. Instead of printing a
coupon for a future purchase as you leave the store, you're able
to influence the customer at the most critical moment-their
point of decision. Tuku Inc. has developed very inexpensive
NFC tags that can be attached to displays or signage that can
generate rich media content on the shopper's smartphone. No
need to install high priced video displays, and, even better, the
interaction generates data that allows the retailer, or a participating supplier to collect and analyze information about their
products and the way that shoppers are behaving when they're
making their purchase decision.
Phones are also becoming a means of exchanging currency. Recently, a global convenience store chain implemented
a digital wallet and asked Plexure to help them leverage innovation to drive shopping frequency and basket size. By
analyzing real-time purchase transactions, weather data and
current location, they created tailored messaging to individual customers and generated a 47 per cent increase in average transaction value.

14 |

CANADIAN RETAILER

| THE LOSS PREVENTION ISSUE

SMARTPHONE USAGE
IN STORE
83% of shoppers use
their smartphones
while shopping.
Source: Euclid Analytics

83%
Phygital convergence

Physical stores aren't going away.
In fact, pure play e-commerce companies are investing in bricks-andmortar locations themselves. Amazon recently purchased Whole Foods
along with opening several of their
own bookstores. Other e-commerce
players like Warby Parker and Birchbox have opened their own locations.
From the other direction, traditional
retailers like Wal-Mart are acquiring
e-commerce businesses (they recently purchased Jet.com). All of this goes
to show that a convergence of the
physical and the digital is well underway. With smartphones, the passport
to this new world of retail is literally in
the palm of your hand.
For more information concerning
ways Microsoft Canada can help your
business realize its omnichannel
potential, visit http://microsoft.ca/
empoweringretail.

http://www.Jet.com

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