Inside Auto ID: Retail technology

Those are the views of James Ussher-Smith, the Managing Director of TPP Retail, solutions provider to Clarks, Pets At Home, Yo! Sushi and others. From handheld and tablet devices loaded with operational procedures and product specifications to electronic shelf-edge labelling, traditional retail environments are being transformed by technology, he maintains.

Further benefits lie in recruitment and retention. An employer offering simple, intuitive technology is often more attractive to prospective recruits than businesses which burden them with multiple devices that almost require a toolbelt to carry. Increasingly, candidates compare the technologies they’re offered at work with those they enjoy at home.

Equipping colleagues with solutions comparable to consumer applications helps to eliminate the training curve. New starters quickly become productive team members. Almost immediate adoption, aided by software that is proprietary but familiar, is especially valuable for employers with transient workforces driven by seasonal recruitment trends or staff working second jobs.

New technology is especially valued in consultative retail, found in sectors like health and beauty, sport and pets. Motivated staff want to share their passion with the customer by delivering the best possible service. Solutions that enable them to do so contribute to job satisfaction, and, ultimately, to staff retention.

A single-device platform is the ideal. Consolidating multiple solutions requires commitment and investment but pays dividends in the medium to long term. Staff no longer require different platforms for operational and customer-facing activities, store front and back office, and avoid the disruption of locating the appropriate device while customers wait.

James does not underestimate the challenge of making enterprise technology as intuitive as, say, social media. The resources available to corporations like Meta, for example, dwarf those even of a national retailer with multiple stores. The goal, however, must be to make retail software as easy to use as possible.

Artificial Intelligence could narrow the gap. James offers the example of back office ring binders filled with printed procedures. A large language model AI, accessible from a front-of-store device, interrogated by written or spoken commands, could provide a valuable resource to a colleague needing to report a leak, for example.

Product information offers another application for AI. Voice interrogation to quickly ascertain which of several laptops held in stock offers the longest warranty, for instance, is of obvious benefit. Every colleague can access the same information, allowing the newest recruit to add the same value as the longest-serving team member.

The ultimate goal of retail technologies is to make it easier to shop. Ease lies in removing friction points, such as checkout queues. Amazon’s One technology, which links a scan of the customer’s palm to their Amazon account, dispensing with the need for a device, arguably represents the leading edge.

Payment, however, is only one aspect of the in-store experience. Many people visit stores for access to information and advice in preference to buying online, but as a new generation of shoppers evolves, increasingly more accustomed to frictionless environments than those relying on social skills, retailers could face new challenges.

How to share a colleague’s knowledge without an interaction that Gen Z and Gen Alpha customers might find uncomfortable? A new generation accustomed to software developed for Android and iOS devices presents a further dimension to the challenge faced by retailers. Meeting the expectations of tech-savvy teenagers is not easy.

Opportunities abound too, however, and the advantages of tech-empowered colleagues and frictionless environments point to a bright future for a fast-evolving sector. Traditional retail has already proved its ability to adapt to the threat of online shopping and survive. The tangible aspects of a bricks-and-mortar outlet remain attractive to many.

While the internet offers the convenience of shopping from home, customers miss out on the social interaction unique to in-store retail, one of the few communal experiences remaining in an increasingly atomised society. Opportunities to see and handle the product, and sometimes even to try before buying, are obvious advantages.

The high street of 2030 is likely to offer a very different experience to today’s shops. Retailers must evolve to meet changing customer behaviour and expectations shaped by consumer technology. By embracing advances like AI and single-platform solutions, traditional stores, reassuringly familiar on the outside, might offer a refreshingly modern experience within.

Learn more about Brother's Auto ID solutions here.