By Karl Cama, IBM
Shopping online has dramatically changed consumers’ in store shopping experiences and their expectations. Tweets are used complain about bad customer service and price checking on smartphones in the store is the norm. Despite all the changes e-Commerce has brought to the industry, 85% of consumers still prefer to shop at physical stores — so the importance of store associates and brick and mortar stores cannot be overlooked.
In-store innovations — such as digital content including augmented reality and 3D in-store maps as well as technology enabled associates — will be the competitive differentiator in the next battle to keep and gain new consumers. A key component of creating these unique customer experiences will be innovations and insights gained from Internet of Things (IoT) connected devices stored on the cloud.
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In the next four years, Gartner projects there will be 21 billion IoT connected devices. Retailers will have real-time interactions with consumers through their smartphones and tablets guiding new online and offline brand experiences. When retailers leverage cloud computing to securely connect devices with existing systems and new sources of data from social media, cognitive computing and IoT in-store beacons, they have actionable insights into what consumers want to offer personalized shopping experiences.
Cloud solutions allow retailers the access to an array of different types of relevant data and the ability to prototype solutions quickly. Hybrid cloud models are specifically designed to combine new web-based IoT or digital data with on-premises, legacy systems into one unified environment. The hybrid cloud ensures the most pertinent information is gathered and assimilated — from both inside the business and outside, user generated data.
For example, IBM’s recent work with 1-800-Flowers — a company with multiple brands such as Harry & David and candy maker Fannie May — highlighted the benefits of a hybrid cloud model. 1-800-Flowers is using IBM’s Commerce on Cloud to simplify order management and fulfillment. This shift to the cloud unifies transactions across its brands and gives customers visibility into the status of their multi-brand online order. Now customers can use their smartphones to track an order of flowers from one vendor and chocolates from another for special events like birthdays — ensuring the right products arrive at the right time.
In today’s disruptive retail environment, retailers of all sizes must also create internal processes for continuous experimentation and innovation to maximize valuable storefront space and beat the competition with speed and agility.
For example, the GameStop Technology Institute (GTI) is using IBM Cloud to co-research with universities the next iteration of mobile applications. The goal is to improve GameStop’s in-store and online shopping experience at its 6,000 retail stores.
The GTI Data Hub is built on a Bluemix hybrid cloud platform so consumer created data and on-premise systems are in one place. This ensures GamesStop’s enterprise and research partners are able to collaborate on the same data sets in real-time. As a result of GTI’s research, GameStop is prototyping new ways to utilize in store beacons. While retailers have traditionally leveraged geolocation-based beacons in the store by pushing notifications or promotions straight to customers’ smart phones, GameStop took another approach. It inserted beacons in dedicated areas of the store according to product categories.
When customers approach the beacons near the products they are interested in purchasing and hold up their smartphones, they can receive real-time, digital content that’s specifically tailored to that item or game series. For instance, customers wanting to see the latest Xbox One sales can place their smartphones near a beacon in the Xbox One section to see what’s new. All of this communications is delivered via push notifications through the retailer’s app built on the cloud.
Retailers are in a race to connect all forms of data and innovate new customer experiences from any and all channels. Making those in store experiences positive relies on using connected devices to collect and deliver data, as well as quickly prototyping new capabilities to meet consumers’ needs, wants and aspirations.
For brick and mortar retailers to successfully keep and gain new customers in the industry’s current disruptive environment, they must transform into hybrid cloud-based businesses to empower their store associates and personalize the in-store experience.
Karl Cama is Chief Architect for IBM’s World Wide Retail industry. With over 30 years of experience covering software development, design and architecture experience, Cama works with retailers worldwide assisting them with e-commerce, order management, customer analytics, and cybersecurity implementations. He specializes in designing solutions that enable business capabilities retailers are looking for to help differentiate them in the marketplace.
