Retailers who start now building an enrolled customer base for mobile applications and mobile payments will be ahead of the game in the competition to garner the fast-growing mobile commerce revenues, said Richard Crone, CEO of Crone Consulting to a room full of top industry CIOs at the NRFtech meeting in Half Moon Bay, CA this week. “If you are able to control mobile payments registration inside the retail application it will triple your cross-channel effectiveness,” Crone stated. “It is mobile on steroids.”

Crone revealed the details of a new mobile program to the NRFtech attendees that will facilitate the ability for retailers to offer their own mobile payment service to customers without adding any new hardware or becoming dependent on bank- or carrier-controlled Near Field Communications (NFC). “It is a server-resident mobile wallet, located in the cloud,” he explained. Customers using smart phones will be able to complete secure transactions by scanning a barcode at checkout.

It’s been said that there’s a “science to everything.” Drawing on cutting-edge customer analytics, the new book “The New Science of Retailing” offers strategies to identify proper best practice in retail supply chain operations.

Some of the key concepts explored in the book include:

• Using the data generated at stores to understand customers and their needs deeply;
• Developing the ability to respond to this understanding – with better-tailored assortments, replenishment of the hits, and timely markdowns on what is leftover;
• Executing well, especially at the store level. Attending to data inaccuracy and placement of products within stores;

Concept:
Today, retailers not only compete with each other — they compete with the ease and personalization of Internet shopping. In a cutthroat market, retailers are looking for ways to attract customers and inspire loyalty, turning a one-time visit into a lifelong relationship. Likewise, customer expectations are evolving to include more personalized service and custom incentives, as well as dramatic reductions in wait time.

Recognizing this developing concern, ILoveVelvet launched in France in 2009, with the mission of enabling luxury and small- to medium-sized retailers the ability to provide this custom shopping encounter while eliminating the payment queue. Customers have the option to allow their purchase history, loyalty card and other information to be stored and accessed by the retailer, and in exchange, are rewarded with a valuable and engaging, one-on-one experience. By providing this tailored shopping experience, retailers build customer loyalty and showcase a high degree of brand differentiation, contributing to repeat sales and potentially creating brand evangelists.