By Samuel Mueller, Scandit
The ongoing DIY (Do-it-Yourself) craze is usually associated
with home repairs or arts and crafts, but the DIY mentality is also
expanding to retail.
Consumers are comfortable with using their smartphones for pretty much
everything, so it only makes sense that they would expect to be able to use
them in a brick-and-mortar retail environment to manage every aspect of a
purchase. While consumers may be comfortable with it, are you as a retailer
both comfortable with and prepared for DIY retail?
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Frankly, the thought of DIY retail can be extremely frightening to a retailer.
Shoppers walk in, look at and research items, and then checkout and leave
without ever talking to one of your store associates. That just might feel
wrong to any retail executive who’s been around for more than a year or two,
but some retailers have started to warm up to the concept.
For example, Apple has used an approach called EasyPay that enables shoppers to
buy certain products with their smartphones and then simply walk out of the
store. Not only is this convenient, but it’s also a fantastic method to
use when the store is busy or the shopper is in a rush.
Since DIY retail revolves around what a consumer can do with their own mobile
device, it’s essential that you provide a mobile app that can handle critical
tasks such as scanning, research, and self-checkout. The app capabilities
may be similar to the functionalities of your employee app, but placed in the
hands of your customers.
Retailers who are pursuing the DIY approach also need to design their stores to
be DIY-friendly. Floor plans should be open and products should be easily
accessible, while also being identifiable and labeled in a descriptive
way.
In this setting, store associates mainly keep products stocked, monitor
activity, and make themselves available if there is a problem or information is
needed. Even in a DIY environment, some customers will need or want the
traditional in-store retail experience.
DIY retail can seem like chaos, but technology has made it possible and
manageable for retailers who want to prepare for the future of retail today.
Samuel Mueller is the CEO and co-founder of Scandit and
is responsible for overall strategic direction, marketing, sales and business
development. Prior to Scandit, Samuel was a management consultant and
project leader for multinational companies such as Swiss Airlines, Swiss Re and
IBM as well as a corporate researcher at the renowned IBM Zurich Research
Lab. While at IBM, Samuel was awarded an IBM Research Division Award and a
total of three IBM Invention Achievement Awards. He has authored numerous
patent applications and has published his research results in leading
conferences and journals. Samuel holds a PhD from ETH Zurich and graduated
summa cum laude with an MSc in Computer Science and an MA in
Financial Economics, both from the University of Zurich, Switzerland.
