Guest Commentary: Making Sense of the Move to Mobile
Brad Fick, Direct Source
Mobile devices are playing an increasingly important role in the world of retail – and it's not just mobile shopping.
According to the Retail Systems Research report “Mobile In Retail: Reality Sets In,” the top factor driving retailers to implement mobile strategies is the need to “empower our employees to meet consumer service expectations” and “help our employees to be more efficient.” The mobile capabilities that retailers most want to equip employees with include assisted selling (58 percent), access to work schedules (45 percent), apps for merchandising tasks (34 percent), and access to corporate information about products and services (34 percent).
When mobile devices were first introduced, they found little traction in the retail environment. They lacked the protection, interoperability and functionality to serve as a practical in-store solution. Today, it’s a different story. Mobile devices themselves have evolved, and a wide variety of products and services supporting them have blossomed.
Indeed, retailers today are using mobile devices for mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) functions, as a tool for store associates or managers, and even for loss prevention.
Deploying in-store mobile devices across hundreds if not thousands of stores, however, can be a monumental undertaking. It can significantly impact retail employees, customers, processes, policies, networks and store layouts. Given we're still in something of a period of discovery with in-store mobile technology, best practices for deployment are still being defined. Yet there are some key considerations that can help guide retailers through the process.
Formulating a Deployment Strategy
It’s easy to assume that mobile device manufacturers are well suited for helping develop a mobile device deployment strategy. But device manufacturers are focused on consumer use, and don’t yet understand the intricacies of deploying mobile technology in a B2B or retail environment. They simply can’t provide an objective opinion or create customized solutions to address a retailer’s unique needs. An independent, third-party service provider is still the best bet for unbiased, vendor-neutral expertise while helping evaluate usage, hardware, application, network and security needs.
Third-party providers also can flag related technology situations. For example, they can help ensure the network has enough bandwidth to support the required devices, conduct site surveys to determine software needs and provide installation support. Integrators also can leverage their retail experience to help ensure a smooth roll-out, and provide up-to-date information on important issues such as device-to-network PCI compliance.
To Purchase or Not to Purchase?
Consumer-device turnover is already at the point where hardware manufacturers want consumers to “trade-up” to a new device every two years. Compare this to the length of a typical POS hardware lifecycle in a retail environment and it’s easy to see why retailers are hesitant to invest in mobile hardware. But, mobile devices continue to evolve, with new generations constantly being released that boast faster speeds, more memory and greater capabilities.
Purchasing mobile devices with the expectation that they’ll be used for three to five years can actually mean being stuck with an outdated device in mere months, and it may limit the ability to keep up with new capabilities for retail operations as technology continues to evolve.
One alternative to purchasing devices is choosing a hardware-as-a-service (HaaS) option. With this service, retailers have access to the latest mobile devices – and a full range of peripherals – for a monthly charge, and can upgrade either as new devices are available or as requirements demand. A HaaS contract can be customized to include warranty, software, support, installation/de-installation and shipping.
Accessorize
One of the most important considerations when using mobile devices in a retail setting is how employees and customers will interact with it. The basic device alone will not suffice for most retailers. It’s important to protect the technology and ensure the device can be used in a way that suits every need, such as mPOS payments, sales support or inventory management.
All-in-one mPOS solutions, such as the VeriFone PAYware Mobile e315 and e335, include features such as magnetic strip and smart card readers with 1D/2D image scanners. The Ingenico iCMP also has magnetic strip and smart card readers, and can be used with iOS or Android via Bluetooth. Other solutions, such as Honeywell's Captuvo SL22 Sled for the iPad Touch and Captuvo SL62 sled for the iPad Mini, can empower associates on the sales floor with immediate product information, inventory searches and payment processing. They even can be used as an on-the-move gift registry, so customers can conveniently research products, browse reviews and add products to their registry as they walk the store.
Security and Support
Security is a concern anytime a new technology is introduced. But given that wireless device thefts are on the rise across the country, security is particularly important for any mobile strategy. Retailers should make sure policies and solutions are in place to protect assets and information – including customer information – with services like remote wiping and deactivation. Also, consider exceeding PCI compliance to ensure the mobile program is future proofed.
Retailers also can’t expect to deploy mobile devices to stores without a support plan in place. This includes elements such as maintenance, help-desk support and hardware/software updates. Including support services as part of the up-front planning can help optimize mobile policies and make operational workflows more efficient.
Take Charge of Stores
One in three shoppers is now using a smartphone to look up information that they otherwise would have turned to a store employee for, according to a survey by M.A.R.C. Research and the Google Shopper Council. Shoppers also are using search engines as their preferred in-store research source (82 percent) over store websites (62 percent), brand websites (50 percent) and store apps (21 percent), according to the survey.
This “self-help” trend of leaving customers to their own devices (literally) is exactly what retailers want to avoid.
With the proper mobile strategy that integrates product information, pricing, inventory, merchandising, POS/mPOS and other systems, retailers can better engage with shoppers on their own terms and enable employees to make better, faster decisions when sales are on the line.
Brad Fick is president of Direct Source, a provider of hardware, software, installation and integration services for the retail industry. Contact him at [email protected]