Several themes emerged, including data security, market-basket analysis, self-checkout, social media and an ongoing push to improve the relationship between store staff and customers.
"We're finding ways to look at data and [are realizing] customers fall into groups, like the coffee customer or [image-nocss] even in one case, wine customers," said Greg Gilkerson, president of PDI, Temple, Texas, talking of developments his company is working on. "If you use loyalty data, you can market to a specific group."
Here is a roundup of trends, developments and new products: Card-swipe fee repercussions. Joe Randazza, president and CEO of National Payment Card, Coconut Creek, Fla., believes that despite new, card-swipe fee legislation set to benefit retailers, banks will find a way to recoup lost income, potentially through checking-account fees or other methods. In related news, Blackhawk Network, Pleasanton, Calif., has come out with a reloadable, prepaid debit product that allows c-store retailers to hone in on $3.95 per transaction in reloading fees. Customer service. A system that prompts cashiers to upsell either the month's marketing promotions or affinity items was on the NACS showroom floor for the first time. Doug Kreup, CEO and founder of LIFT/Retail Marketing Technologies, Dunwoody, Ga., said the system even takes into account daypart, as well as the purchase process so as not to slow down the checkout line. Data security. Companies like First Data, Marietta, Ga., are focusing on "tokenization" technology, which replaces card-transaction information with data "tokens." The process takes much of the actual data out of the retailer's hands, thereby making compliance to PCI (Payment Card Industry) standards simpler, according to Robert McMillon, director of solution development for RSA, a data-security company working with First Data. In a related area, secure pump payment has been a focus for VeriFone Inc., San Jose, Calif., according to Brad McGuiness, vice president of development. Integration, architecture. Retailers may be opting to integrate their systems as technology develops. PDI's Gilkerson said his company is implementing its enterprise platform at 900 Mac's stations in Canada, while Plano, Texas-based Retalix USA announced that one of its clients, Muskegon, Mich.-based Wesco Inc., is set to implement Retalix's line of point-of-sale (POS) registers, backoffice, headquarter and loyalty solutions. For those retailers interested in a subscription-based solution, Wesley Loh, vice president of retail solutions for Autogas, Costa Mesa, Calif., said their company's decision to move to a "cloud" solutionwhere the technology sits away from the site itselfis proving popular. Loyalty. For Retalix, loyalty has been a hot ticket with nine new customers buying into their system. Brad Prizer, vice president of marketing, said that people are also looking for data analysis with the idea of personalizing the marketing message to individual customers. Marketing. Regarding in-pump screens, Greensboro, N.C.-based Gilbarco Veeder-Root has partnered with Outcast Media, Santa Monica, Calif., for that company to handle its on-screen content. It's what officials call a turnkey offer for those without the resources to continually produce content. In other marketing news, Chris Worman, senior product developer, GasBuddy Organization Inc., Brooklyn Park, Minn., said the company has created mobile marketing solutions and apps for the iPhone, Android and Blackberry. He said to expect more developments in the coming months. Mobile payment. McMillon of RSA said that contactless-payment devices built into mobile phones may rule the day when it comes to payment. Petroleum. A news development emerged during the NACS Show in the announcement of Fairfeld, Conn.-based GE acquiring Austin, Texas-based Dresser Wayne. The $3 billion deal is the latest in a series of acquisitions over the last 10 years within GE's energy business. Officials with Dresser said that the near term will be business as usual and could not speculate on GE's long-term plans. The deal is subject to customary conditions and is expected to close promptly after receiving regulatory approval. On the show floor, Dresser Wayne showcased its secure payment system, a diesel-additive equipped dispenser and a concept pump for electric fueling. In other petroleum news, Veeder-Root, Simsbury, Conn., was demonstrating a new water-detection device for storage tanks, while Robert Stein Jr., president and CEO of KSS Fuels, Florham Park, N.J., said retailers are interested in data analytics that will help them better understand how to price fuel and how pricing at the pump affects inside sales. Self-checkout. Duluth, Ga.-based NCR Corp. had its self-checkout unit on display, the one that Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Quick Check has installed. John Saccomanno, director of industry marketing for NCR said it can increase traffic at high-volume locations, since customers are already used to the devices from having used them at building-supply and grocery stores. The device has a receptacle for coins and "recycles" bills, which reduces the number of times cash needs to be replaced, he said. Store security, management. Video systems for c-stores continue to advance. Imed Benzarti, national account manager for Gulfcoast Software Solutions, said their solution links specific transactions to video based on preset alerts such as a certain number of no-sales or movement from the back door. In other related news, a couple of companies have tied their remote-monitoring capabilities to Apple's new iPad device. Gilbarco has a connection to its Passport POS, giving managers access to data remotely. James Kelly, product manager, security and compliance for Gilbarco said its decision to separate data-transaction pathways from the larger system averted PCI concerns and allowed quick development of the iPad connection. Along similar lines, Melanie Squires, director of sales and marketing, Sigma Oil Corp., La Mesa, Calif., said they can link their backoffice management system to an iPad too. In terms of safes, Ed Grondahl, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Tidel Engineering, Carrollton, Texas, said the company has developed a safe that can handle more cash than its previous line, while Bob Johnson, president, The Pinnacle Corp., Irving, Texas, said the company was seeing popularity with its signature-capture product.
Meanwhile, technology developments continued outside the NACS convention earlier this month. Here is a snapshot of what was announced during the timeframe of the trade show:
Intellifuel Systems, Titusville, Fla., announced its acquisition of a minority interest in Creative Energies, an Amherst, N.H.-based company. Intellifuel previously licensed the Creative Energies' dispatch and billing application to supplement its own supply optimization solution, adding shift planning boards, time and attendance, driver payroll and freight billing. The combined application is marketed under the name Total Dispatch by Intellifuel Systems. In related news, FuelLogix, Winter Park, Fla., announced the development of the integration between Intellifuel Systems' dispatch system and FuelLogix's Agility System. The PCI Security Standards Council (SSC) has validated the Gasboy's CFN III site controller and POS system Version 3.6 as compliant with the Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS). "We are committed to a proactive, long-term partnership with fleet operators and are proud to provide systems that help prevent data compromises and breaches," said Kevin DeVinney, director of dispensers and fleet systems at Greensboro, N.C.-based Gilbarco. Dallas-based AT&T announced that Advantage Sales & Marketing (ASM), Irvine, Calif., has signed a new two-year contract for wireless services to help consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers optimize the presence and merchandising of their products in the retail environment. Under the new agreement with AT&T, ASM has equipped 5,000 of its field representatives, serving a client base of more than 900 CPG manufacturers across the United States and Canada, with hand-held PC devicesthe Motorola MC55 and the Intermec CN50 wireless devicesloaded with custom-designed software and connected through the AT&T wireless network. AIMS Inc., Monroe, La., an automated information management software solutions provider, announced it has earned the Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Status for its fourth straight year. Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft's partner program was launched in October 2003 and offers a single, integrated partnering framework that recognizes partner expertise and rewards the total impact that partners have in the technology marketplace. In related news, FuelLogix LLC, Winter Park, Fla., and AIMS, Inc. announced they have partnered to integrate the POS sales data and daily report information generated from FuelLogix's Agility solution with AIMS COMPAS Commander management solution. ISD Corp., Irving, Texas, a provider of secure payment management software and solutions for merchants, and Givex, Toronto, Ont., a provider of closed-loop card technologies including gift, loyalty, and other stored value programs, announced the integration of the Givex gift card program to the ISD payment switch. KSS Fuels introduced its Pricing Performance Management (PPM) service, which will help users of KSS Fuels' PriceNet and RackPrice fuel price management solutions ensure that they are receiving the maximum benefit from their software installations. A new research brief from the Mercator Advisory Group, Maynard, Mass., reveals that merchants can more easily comply with and reduce the cost of PCI requirements--which currently amounts to more than $2 billion annually--by deploying a payment card encryption infrastructure. Sponsored by VeriFone and Transaction Network Services Inc., Reston, Va., Mercator's report concludes that with card data encryption "merchants are, at last, in a position to [eliminate] a big chunk of their ongoing compliance costs and to get off of the PCI treadmill." MPSI, Tulsa, Okla., a provider of fuels pricing and site evaluation solutions, announced the release of its LocationXpert online retail network planning system for North American petroleum and convenience store retailers. This new online application delivers the company's network planning model and functionality to help clients determine the optimal strategic plan for their network of retail outlets. Founded in 1961 as the National Association of Convenience Stores, NACS is the international association for convenience and petroleum retailing, representing more than 2,100 retail and 1,500 supplier member companies. The U.S. convenience store industry, with nearly 145,000 stores across the country, posted $511 billion in total sales in 2009, with $328 billion in motor fuels sales. Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.