Biometrics to bring relationship centerstage October 3, 2006
Posted by kk in Retail Consumer/ Behavior, Retail Tech.add a comment
“Mass marketing is evolving into one-to-one relationship marketing, where brands seek ways to isolate their most valuable customers”, says John Costello, president of consumer and retail at Pay By Touch, a privately held biometric payment company in San Francisco.
According to Costello, his company’s 3 million members eventually could, with a touch of a finger at a kiosk in a grocery store, receive offers tailored specifically to their needs and shopping history.
Although promising, the field of biometric technology and the prospects of Pay By Touch have many hurdles to overcome before mainstream adoption including a battle with privacy advocates predicts a recent report in Advertising Age.
Costello has earlier held high-level marketing positions at Yahoo, Sears Roebuck & Co. and, most recently, Home Depot
Combating retail shrinkage with RFID September 28, 2006
Posted by kk in Retail Consumer/ Behavior, Retail India, Retail Knowledge, Retail Software, Retail Tech, Retail Views.1 comment so far
Retail shrinkage is the difference between book stock and actual stock. It is the unaccounted loss of retail goods. Its main causes are theft by employees, administrative errors, shoplifting by customers or vendor fraud.
Rakesh Biyani, Director, Pantaloon feels that as India enforces the MRP (Maximum Retail Price) system, the retailer has very little profit margin. Large retail outlets such as Big Bazaar and Pantaloon have investments in RFID, CCTV and antennas to reduce retail shrinkage reports Network Magazine. RFIDs in particular are being adopted widely by these retail majors. “If somebody steals goods without paying, it is the public who ends up paying for it. We identify compulsive shoplifters and often catch them three or more times in the same month. We try not to involve the police especially when teenagers are involved. This is where RFIDs are useful in protection of goods,” explains Biyani.
Dharmesh Lamba, Country Head, Checkpoint echoes the sentiments. He points out that India’s organised retail is only 3 percent while 97 percent is unorganised. “India is the second largest growing economy in retail, after China. Around 300 plus shopping malls are coming up in 2006 alone. New products launched globally are now launched simultaneously in India as well,” says Lamba. (more…)
Smart shelves heading your way September 18, 2006
Posted by kk in Retail Consumer/ Behavior, Retail Display, Retail News, Retail Tech.add a comment
An RFID enabled technology, under development, is soon to begin gathering information on buying behavior of customers.Thanks to deployment of RFID enabled smart shelves, retailers will be able to collect data on questions like:
- How many of customers considered buying an item?
- How many of them really bought it?
- Which of the other items were bought together?
- Which of the items on display received attention of the customers?
In short, it would now be possible for retailers and marketers to collect information on popularity or otherwise of any item, according to a report published in Engadget.
