ANNAPOLIS, Md. --Using everything from Bluetooth beacons to undetectable sound and LED lighting, Marty Ramos showed convenience retailers and attendees at a NACS technology conference how to track consumers when they come in the store and offer them discounts that really mean something to them.
Tracking Consumers
Ramos, the chief technology officer for retail, consumer products and services for Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft, was one of the opening speakers at the annual Conexxus conference, which will run through Thursday in Annapolis, Md.
In addition to sensor-based technologies, Ramos said that online retailers like Amazon are making significant headways with retailers, often redefining convenience along the way.
“All [these] channels are competing for same dollar, [sales] historically driven through brick and mortar,” Ramos said. “Ecommerce is growing at six times the rate of brick-and-mortar sales, taking away a lot of growth.”
Through technology, Ramos said, retailers can make sure the different online and brick-and-mortar formats “stay in parity.”
He spoke to how Bluetooth beacon technology—as well as other sensor technologies using sound or even light—can identify specific shoppers as they walk into the store. Historical data pulled from a retailer’s website can bring up a shopper’s past purchases and offer relevant discounts while he or she browses the floor. Technology also can identify shoppers who buy more than others, giving clerks the ability to prioritize their time.
The difference between online shopping and in-store shopping is that history and the ability to offer more information—their special price, recommendations, ingredients—to the consumer when he or she is actually in a store, Ramos said.
Payment Evolution
Payments was another area of technology development that retailers needed to address, he said, with Seattle-based Starbucks being a prime example of a retailer essentially persuading a large customer segment to use its own tender.
Ramos said he operates a 23,000-square-foot “mall” that houses dozens of mock stores, all of which demonstrate different use-cases for upcoming technologies.
In addition to Ramos, Gray Taylor, executive director for Conexxus, gave attendees a rundown of important issues facing c-store retailers, such as Europay MasterCard Visa (EMV) adoption, the evolution of mobile payment and ongoing work with technology standards.
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