»
“
Shoppers are undoubtedly driving the trend, but
clever technology firms are reacting to it fast.” He cites
the following as an example of how retailers are cashing
in: “Just as their 19th-century counterparts came up with
the first cash registers to cut down on mistakes with
accounting, today’s tech firms are offering devices that
track shoppers’ eye movements and vending machines that
can strike up a conversation,”
But Martin draws a distinction between what he sees as
“
intrusive” marketing – typically, tracking devices or overt-
marketing approaches linked to smartphones – and what
he terms “helpful technology”.
“
A lot of people won’t like being greeted by name by a
machine as they enter a store, but when it comes to the
so-called ‘magic mirrors’ being trialled by global firms like
Marks & Spencer – which use augmented-reality software
to help you try on clothes without the need for changing
rooms – I cannot find a logical reason to disapprove.”
While much of this technology hails from the USA,
different nations on this side of the pond are pushing
things forward in their own way. For instance, the German
chemist-chain Budnikowsky piloted virtual shopping walls
that contained pictures of its products alongside QR codes
which enabled consumers to immediately make a purchase
on their phones in a number of city train stations back in
October 2011. Within a month, the Swiss retailer Coop
(
CH) did something similar in Zurich.
It’s all part of a wider trend in what’s known as
‘
bricks to clicks’, where traditional high-street retail is
converging with its online equivalent. In Holland, for
instance, customers of the retailer Albert Heijn can scan
the barcodes of products while they’re shopping to create
a shopping list. It’s part of an app called Appie, which will
also show them the best way round the store, recommend
recipes depending on what they’re purchasing and then
allow them to pay for the goods.
Indeed, mobile phones are at the forefront of the other
big trend in retail right now – contactless payment, where
handsets will replace the need for a credit card, allowing
consumers to make transactions simply by waving it near a
special type of reader.
But what if you want to opt out of all this? According to
Ian Patterson, a consultant to the pan-European technology
supplier Box Technologies, it’s not an option. “Technology
is changing faster today than it has done for 20 years and
retailers must either adapt to it or die,” he says. “The debate
between individuals’ privacy and a more personalised
shopping experience will no doubt continue to rage, but for
a large proportion of us, a trip to the shops may never be
the same as again.”
H A N D S E T S
W I L L R E P L A C E
C R E D I T C A R D S ,
E N A B L I N G
C O N S U M E R S
T O M A K E
T R A N S A C T I O N S
B Y WA V I N G
I T
N E A R A S P E C I A L
T Y P E O F R E A D E R
such as internet payment systems with
suspicion, shoppers have come to expect
the kind of convenience they deliver and
new businesses need to take this on board.
“
Techno-confidence right across the
continent is now plain to see,” he says.
It’s not all plain sailing, however.
According to Phil Eyre, MBA Programme
Director at the Grenoble Ecole de
Management, 13th in the FT’s Masters in
Management table 2012, these advances
in retail technology raise concerns over
privacy that all businesses must be
aware of. “Now that the entire shopping
experience is observed in great detail,”
he says, “retailers are treading a fine
line between clever gimmickry and
infringement of civil liberties.”
1 0 1
R E T A I L
T H E F U T U R E
