GREENSBORO, N.C. -- "Technology that pays" was the theme during the keynote discussion that opened Gilbarco Veeder-Root Inc.'s fifth annual Retail Technology Conference. Nearly 150 attendees gathered Wednesday at the Ballantyne Resort in Charlotte, N.C. to hear industry experts Gray Taylor, Tony Sabetti, Scott Cheek and Matthew Stoudt predict what technologies retailers will be using to enhance the customer experience, improve payment security and increase site profitability. The conference continues through June 3.
Gray Taylor, executive director for the Stafford, Va.-based [image-nocss] Petroleum & Convenience Alliance for Technical Standards (PCATS), highlighted that payment security is a journey that will continue to challenge all areas of convenience store operators' businesses.
"Evolving payment technologies and security measures continue to be highly relevant issues for NACS retailers today," Taylor said. "Point to point encryption appears to be one of the promising solutions addressing the continued increase in attacks on credit and debit card data."
Tony Sabetti, director of POS and payment terminal alliances at Dallas-based Isis, a joint venture between AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless, discussed the impact of mobile commerce on the shopping habits of consumers and the resulting loyalty and merchandising opportunities for retailers.
"Isis creates new opportunities for retailers to engage customers across retail formats," said Sabetti. "We expect consumers will welcome the ability to carry cash, credit and debit cards, reward cards, offers, tickets and transit passes in their phones. The Isis mobile commerce platform creates opportunities for retailers to expand and hone their customer loyalty programs, increasing customer retention and brand differentiation."
Scott Cheek, retail technology manager at Philadelphia-based Sunoco Inc., discussed Sunoco's view on mobile payment adoption and his outlook on Google wallet functionality.
Matthew Stoudt, CEO of Santa Monica, Calif.-based Outcast and former Entrepreneur in Residence at McDonald's Corp., shared his outlook on the increasing importance of behaviorally targeted digital media.
"The dialogue between advertisers and consumers is evolving at an exponential rate. New technologies are giving consumers control of media and empowering them to filter only what is directly relevant. This shift is driving advertiser demand for opportunities to connect with customers in meaningful ways, close to where buying decisions are made," Stoudt said. "Demand for digital place based, mobile and online media is forecast to grow six times faster than traditional media over the next three years."
Steve Park, vice president and general manager of the Payment Business Unit at Greensboro, N.C.-based Gilbarco Veeder-Root, concluded the session, highlighting considerations for retailers as they evaluate their technology road map.
"It is clear that retailers will have more choices to make in the next two years than they have had in the past twenty years about how they differentiate their brands and improve their customer experience and operations costs. Progressive retailers that are proactive in the face of change will gain a profit advantage over the competition. Gilbarco will continue to provide solutions that enable our retail partners to improve the customer experience and payment security," he said.
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