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A  Proposal.  

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WHAT IS BEHIND THE CHANGE IN CUSTOMER PURCHASING BEHAVIOUR AND HOW WILL THIS AFFECT THE RETAIL VALUE CHAIN?

•  In the next ten years, there will be a fundamental change in purchasing behaviour, beyond that of a simple change in purchasing methods. This opportunity in how, when and where we shop, will bring real value added benefits to retailers and attract new players to the value chain.

•  The shopping experience that customers will expect from retailers depends on technology: interactive displays, mobile payment systems and smart mobile inventory solutions that are the next step in a development that has rapidly changed the customer‘s buying behaviour in the near future.

•  Latest developments in technology – from smart display technology and mobile payment solutions, to face recognition and virtual stores – are the engine behind this retail revolution. They enable new technology suppliers to enter the value chain and make the most out of servicing this customer behaviour change.

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WHAT IS BEHIND THE CHANGE IN CUSTOMER PURCHASING BEHAVIOUR AND HOW WILL THIS AFFECT THE RETAIL VALUE CHAIN?

•  This retail revolution will also have many inflection points, the most important being that new implementers can enter the POS space with their repurposed product offerings. For example, those companies today engaged in Out of Home (OOH) solutions may become tomorrow’s virtual shop front providers.

•  For retailers to remain in the game, they have to maximize the value of bricks and mortar assets in the face of increasing online spend with a “multi-channel experience“ – a highly integrated in-store, online and offline approach. Virtual stores will co-exist with physical stores, helping customers to manage their shopping lives while extending shopping hours and opening revenue streams for retailers.

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WHY DOES AN INDUSTRY PLATFORM MAKE SENSE IN ADDRESSING RETAILERS?

•  Retailers are getting more sceptical of new and innovative technology and are failing to see the added value for their business models. –  Retailers, by nature, find it difficult to separate change from capital outlay.

Fundamentally, they prefer the status quo. New processes or technological innovations need to prove their ROI. Specifically, recent industry hype over mobile payments/wallets have left many retailers feeling confused and unsure as to the technologies’ value-added element to their business.

•  Traditional roles in the industry are changing, e.g. MNOs are now behaving like banks in front of the retailer. –  Far too much has been made by interested third parties on the role that technology

innovation can play in enhancing a retailer’s POS and backend payment process. Unfortunately, extra costs are also incurred by the retailer once these innovations are implemented.

•  Technological innovations that can enhance purchasing behaviour when demonstrated as a complete solution with tangible benefits, based on increased product sales, will be more acceptable to retailers.

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WHY DOES AN INDUSTRY PLATFORM MAKE SENSE IN ADDRESSING RETAILERS?

•  An industry platform, focussed on demonstrating these kind of benefits, can be more convincing and credible for the retailer. It can put arguments into context and control message delivery and can also give the retailer a platform to voice feedback.

•  Political, business or strategic circumstances can make a single corporate approach to a segment such as retail not advantageous. In this case, a “neutral” platform approach is a strategic business development asset.

•  This industry platform can also target and engage those players new to the value chain, such as certain companies with repurposed products in terms of virtual shop fronts etc.

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WHAT FORM SHOULD AN INDUSTRY PLATFORM, AIMED AT INTRODUCING RETAILERS TO TECHNOLOGY INNOVATIONS, TAKE?

•  Krowne recommends that the platform be a partner-type program under the directive of one key sponsor with a keen interest in the success of implementing their innovative and sustainable technology solutions across various retail areas.

•  We see a semiconductor manufacturer as an ideal lead, as chip solutions are an integral and indispensible part of most systems – and form the foundation for technology development.

•  Additional members of the platform can be invited on a fee-paying basis, according to their role in the value chain. The primary aim of bringing additional companies to support the platform is to present a more coherent solution approach to companies active in the retail space.

•  The platform will have a primarily European focus with potential opportunities to extend its reach to the US and APAC in 2014

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WHAT ARE THE TACTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SUCH AN INDUSTRY PLATFORM?

•  The platform will initially be presented as a one-stop online portal with structured current content to assist companies in understanding total value chain technology solutions in a modular approach and consequently understanding synergies that can arise from such actions.

•  Endless Shelf Platform content will be both, published partner content and exclusive content. –  Exclusive productions will cover country and regional highlights, technology updates

and application reviews. –  Consequently, the platform plans to produce, publish and disseminate business case

whitepapers, custom publications, project documentary videos pertaining to solution offerings and run exclusive partner meetings with the aim to start some actual pilot projects.

•  Targeted PR cooperation with leading industry trade shows will give the platform high visibility and attract both retailers and partners. –  The full resources of Contactless Intelligence’s platform and network would be

available to the program.

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Customer behaviour is changing; how they buy, where they buy and when they buy. New players are about to enter the market and old players will move on.

Technology will play a pivotal role in this retail revolution. Retailers look upon the future with uncertainty.

In times of such uncertainty the Endless Shelf Platform will work to separate the

‘Evolution’ from ‘Revolution’.