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Retail Systems 2004: No big waves

This year's Retail Systems show-Catch the Next Wave of Innovation-was more of a washout according to some of the show's vendors.

June 2, 2004 by Angela Lawson — buyer, Kaba Ilco Corp

This year's Retail Systems show-Catch the Next Wave of Innovation-was more of a washout according to some of the show's exhibitors.

While more than 3,700 industry professionals attended, many of the vendors I spoke with claimed that traffic was down from previous years.

Both the conference and the Expo floor featured programs designed to bring suppliers and retailers together. However, when I stopped by the Kiosk Information Systems (KIS) booth there was not a single retailer to be found.

I asked KIS President Rick Malone about the show and he said, "The show is disappointing and the traffic is very slow compared to last year." Malone also said he felt that the show has become too generic.

NetKey CEO Miller Newton and Marketing Director Bob Ventresca agreed with Malone's assessment. When asked how the show was going they both said "slow."

"I guess it depends on why you are here," Miller said. "I think the information educational aspect has been phenomenal and the tech tour programs where really good and focused. But from an overall traffic perspective the traffic and attendance was a little better last year."

Big Blue's retail outlook

IBM's role in the retail sector of the kiosk industry, according to Joseph Gagnon, a partner in IBM's retail business consulting services, is building out software infrastructure that is going to have many types of devices that connect and serve some level of business purpose, whether it be around customer convenience and loyalty or selling, store functionality and check out.

"We are spending a whole bunch of time looking at function, architecture, infrastructure," said Gagnon. "IBM has shown in other industries like the airline industry, that it can be a dominant player in the kiosk business. While we are not necessarily the provider of all the pieces, we are certainly playing a role in figuring out use, applications and integration."

When asked about trends in retail self-service Gagnon said it was his favorite topic. He feels that there are three definite trends.

The first trend is around the checkout process and trying to see how you apply it and to whom. He claims that in one retail format 30 percent may use self-checkout and in another format 70 percent will use it.

"What matters is to figure out the right tipping point for optimal use," Gagnon said. "Don't think you can get everyone to use it and you don't need everyone to do it. Listen to the customer base and see what they want."

The second self-service trend that has growth potential is assisted selling. "Let's build an operating model around the high turnover of sales associates," Gagnon said. "How do you that? You unburden the associate processes."

Retailers have a hard time finding associates that are informed enough to execute customer transactions and customer service.

According to Gagnon this becomes more important with complex transactions. For example someone working in the kitchen remolding area of a home store will not understand the complex specs in the first week.

"The more complex product or the more expensive product drives the need to support the associate with some type of technology," he said. "It could be a kiosk, or a handheld device or some type of POS information."

The third area of growth is the convenience shopping experience, which is navigation and product location.

"Kiosks or digital signage are a fabulous opportunity for us to really look at starting from the minute the customer leaves the car and enters the store," Gagnon said. "It's about communicating so they can figure out how to navigate. You are putting the information into the hands of the customer when they need it to make a decision and when you do that they feel satisfied."

Multichannel matters

When asked what the hot growth area was in the retail sector, netkey President Miller Newton responded that multichannel integration is number one.

According to Newton, retailers are looking for a totally integrated customer experience to increase the register ring and reduce costs.

"I think it's multichannel integration for a fully integrated customer experience because customers are demanding the same experience in the various channels, whether it is catalog, online or in the store," said Newton. "And self-service really sits right at the intersection of those initiatives."

Miller also said netkey has an advantage in multichannel integration because the company has been doing it for eight years, has 200 customers, and its managing more than 30,000 devices on their multichannel technology for the "Who's Who of Retail 100.

Other interesting things seen on the Expo floor:

Self-checkout for the c-store

Over at the Fujitsu booth there was a demonstration in the two new U-Scan self-checkout systems. These attractive units have a small footprint that makes them ideal for the c-store environment or other locations with limited space.

The U-Scan kiosk handles debit and credit card transactions and dispenses cash. This added feature lets retailers combine self-checkout and ATM service in one compact unit.

Ask Henry

At the Apunix booth, Ginger Csizmadi explained the difference between Apunix and their competitors is that Apunix thinks of kiosks in terms of systems that need ultra-high reliability and easy remote management. That's why Apunix kiosks utilize Solaris and Linux servers--for their reliability.

Csizmadi demonstrated the Ask Henry kiosk for me. It's a self-guided informational kiosk that's used in approximately 600 Home Depot stores. The non-networked kiosk directs customers in buying roofing materials.

Touch&Go

One of the most impressive exhibits was the Micro Solutions booth. Their line of wall mount  or counter mount configurable computers include the Touch&Go Paige, which is a highly integrated interactive shelf client and the Touch&Go Messenger, a point-of-information system.

The Touch&Go line is an interactive client system that's compact, can be a stand-alone unit or connected to existing POS. All the Touch&Go units run an embedded Intel architecture.

SNAPTRAX

Doug Peter, president of St. Clair Interactive Communications, has seen kiosk providers come and go during his 21 years in business.

According to Peter, many of the new players in the kiosk industry do not have a clue how hard the business can be. 

St. Clair's award-wining SNAPTRAX kiosk (developed in partnership with KIS) was on display at the show. SNAPTRAX combines a digital photo finishing station, a public internet access terminal, CD, laptop and MP3 digital music downloading/recording and cell phone services in one colorful and sleek kiosk unit.

Great touchscreens

As the crowd dwindled to nothing, I stopped at the Elo Touchsystems booth to chat with Marcom Manager Barbara Van Gennep. The light crowd gave me a chance to get a close look at Elo's new 15" and 17" LCD rear/panel-mount touchmonitors with infrared touch sensors. The quality of the display on these monitors is incredible.

The monitors feature a unique injection-molded minibezel and watertight seal, plus a choice of mounting options including rear mount VESA and front/panel-mount bezels or 19" rack mount bezel. Optional glass, acrylic and tempered-glass filters give the 1547L/1747L display added protection and sealability against contaminants with minimal loss of image clarity.