2015/4/22 20:20:40
Source: Web
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Just as
there’s no pause button or adjustment period between one year and the next,
technology doesn’t wait for laggards to catch up. That’s why, as we barrel into
2015, smart retailers are rapidly adopting one or more of a half-dozen
technological breakthroughs that are beginning to permanently change how
businesses and consumers interact.
In a
nutshell, these half-dozen technologies are part of what is called the Internet
of Things (IoT), which is characterized by the automated transmission of
information over a network, without need for human interaction.
Each of
these technologies relies on IoT in a different way, and clearly provides a
competitive advantage or differentiator.
In the
context of retail, RFID is
the most well-known example of IoT. According to Bill Hardgrave
of Auburn University, tagging products so they can be tracked and
counted has huge benefits for retailers. Using RFID tags, retailers can expect
99% inventory accuracy, a 50% reduction in out-of-stocks, a 70% reduction in
shrinkage, and sales lifts in the 2% to 7% range.
Here are
six examples of how IoT is already changing the retail landscape forever:
Home
replenishment. I believe the biggest potential for the IoT is with home replenishment.
Imagine pressing a button on the wall of the laundry room whenever you run out
of detergent so that a new bottle is automatically ordered at your favorite
online store for home delivery. These generic buttons could be configured for
different products and placed around the home in strategic spots. Connecting
home automation to e-commerce sites could be the next wave of retailing.
One
example of this, Egg Minder,
is already on the market. It’s a smart egg tray that keeps track of how many
eggs are in the refrigerator and how close they are to expiring. It
communicates via Wi-Fi to a smartphone app, ensuring consumers will never run
out of eggs again.
Virtual
reality. An emerging branch of IoT is wearables—the many different smart
devices that people can now wear. Something like Google Glass
could provide store managers with flash reporting displayed as they scan the
store, comparing each department’s plan versus actual sales. Using the Google
Glass prototype that Oracle built,
store managers can also scan bar codes to get extended product information as
well as inventory positions. And override requests at the POS pop-up on Glass
would allow managers to make decisions about each of them remotely.
Wireless sensing and tracking. In-store sensors
such as Bluetooth beacons can track smartphones throughout the store and record
path-to-purchase data that can later be used to optimize store layouts. They
can also be used to target shoppers as they traverse the aisles, providing
contextual information and offers as they go. And of course this extends to
checkout, where shoppers can use their NFC-equipped contactless cards to pay
for goods. Alternatives like Apple Pay,
Softcard, PayPal, and CurrentC will expand payment capabilities further by
including digital coupons, rewards, and better security.
Home hubs. With the home automation trend in full swing, companies like
Lowe’s, Home Depot, and
Staples have released their own “hub” products, which bridge protocols that vary
across different vendors’ products. Using these hubs, consumers can control
their lights, HVAC, curtains, closed-loop cameras, and such with a single
smartphone app.
Health data mining. Self-health is
another trending area. People can monitor their exercise, weight, and even how
long they brush their teeth with devices connected to the Internet. Analytics
mine the data for patterns and provide suggestions for improvement. It won’t be
long before retailers like Walgreens and CVS offer to analyze this data to
better diagnose and prescribe remedies.
Combining public and private data sources. My
favorite IoT product has to be Droplet,
a smart sprinkler that uses weather and soil information to determine the
perfect amount of water to dispense for plants and grass, thereby saving as
much as 90% on water bills. Never again will we water the grass an hour before
it rains!
This
sort of technology is already being used by farmers—combining genetic
information about their crops with soil data from their land and a variety of
public weather data sources to determine how closely, deeply, and frequently to
plant seeds or spray herbicides on a given square of farmland.
With the ubiquity of connective networks, inexpensive sensors,
and cloud-based data storage capabilities, technology is no longer the
inhibiting factor when it comes to disrupting the retail sector. The stores
that outperform in the coming year will be those whose leaders have the
imagination and insight to put these emerging tools to use in ways that
differentiate their organizations from the competition.
(Credit: Web)