NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The crop of new products and developments featured at this year's NACStech Show in Nashville, Tenn., included among others, advancements in loyalty programs, automated clearinghouse (ACH) transaction options, payment card industry (PCI) compliant devices and applications, in-pump merchandising, wide-area networks and contactless payment.
Hot-button trends such as rising credit-card fees and the related push by San Francisco-based Visa to enforce data security, have also forced retailers to give these technology options a closer look.[image-nocss]
Addressing the trend of bypassing credit-card fees by shifting customers to ACH debit options, retailer and loyalty-program provider Pat Lewis of Oasis Stop N Go and KickBack Rewards Systems, Twin Falls, Idaho, said, The challenge with ACH is consumer adoption; we have to make it easier.
To address that challenge, Lewis has developed a process that allows current loyalty cardholders to sign up for ACH debit payment on site. Though the customer needs a checking account and a blank check to participate right there at the store, Lewis said the option replaces the complexity of having to send the customer home with an application form. Lewis said he recently received a patent for the in-store process. (For a visual step-by-step illustration of the process, click Download Now button below.)
In recent months, a handful of high-profile c-store chains have opted to steer customers toward loyalty programs tied to ACH-payment, with savings from credit-card fees funding pump or in-store discounts. At a NACStech educational session covering new product trends, approximately 50 attendees at the annual industry technology conference listened to supplier panelists, including Lewis, talk of this and other industry trends.
Drew Mize, vice president of retail operations for Arlington, Texas-based The Pinnacle Corp., said that with credit-card fees rising $1.2 billion in 2006 and industry profits up $1.1 billion (sourced from the NACS 2007 State of the Industry Report), retailers have to do whatever they can to compete. In addition to an ACH debit option, his company was touting loyalty capabilities, fuel-analysis and business-intelligence functionality and foodservice inventory and ordering options at the show.
In-pump display screens and a move to pixels instead of paper-based signage also appeared to be of growing interest for NACStech attendees. Session panelist Gray Taylor, vice president of global marketing and business development for Austin, Texas-based Dresser Wayne said the company's iX technology in its line of pumps has allowed for consistent up-selling of in-store products as well as advertising income for enterprising retailers.
CPG [Consumer packaged goods] companies are getting away from mass marketing, Taylor said. You see it in things like product placement; it's a clear path for CPGs to get their message across.
After attending a different session on consumer-interfacing technologies, Donna Perkins, pricebook manager, Calloway Oil Co., Maryville, Tenn., said she sees an advantage in moving to a pixel environment with more and more on-site, video signage. After visiting the Home Depot c-stores [in Tennessee], you can see how clean they look, she told CSP Daily News. We get so much material from suppliers in terms of signs and point-of-purchase materials, but if it's all on video, you don't have to hang all of that up.
From PCI compliance to video-imaging products and services, here are a few trade-show floor developments that tied to industry trends:
PCI compliance
Alpharetta, Ga.-based Radiant Systems Inc. showed a pump controller approved through Visa for its data security capabilities. Combined with its latest dispenser developments, spokesperson James Hervey said the advances address security compliance issues while maintaining fast transaction and fuel-delivery times. Gilbarco Inc., Greensboro, N.C., noted how its in-pump devices have received approval from Visa on compliance criteria. The pump manufacturer touted a wide range of new features to its pump and foodservice offers. Nate McNabb, director of marketing for nuBridges, Atlanta, said many retailers are investigating e-commerce options such as the ones his company provides because they are looking to secure their networks. But the reality is things like [connectivity] and security are commodities, he said. The real story is in how business can collaborate [better] electronically. A traffic-cone-orange box the size of a home wireless-connection device can help retailers comply with PCI standards when going onto the Internet, according to Don Fuller, territory manager for small business solutions, Check Point Software Technologies Inc., West Bloomfield, Mich.Video advances
Westec Interactive, West Des Moines, Iowa, has formulated a package that includes operational and marketing ties to its digital-video security package. Rollie Trayte, strategic development director for the company, said coupling the additional services creates a better return-on-investment (ROI) equation for retailers. Gas Station TV, Oak Park, Mich., is scheduled to formally break into the Chicago, New York and Los Angeles markets with its version of television advertising and promotion at the pump. Companies like Gilbarco, Dresser Wayne, Pinnacle, Radiant and Retalix USA, Plano, Texas, were promoting in-pump video options for foodservice.Contactless payment
ViVOtech, Santa Clara, Calif., and OTI America Inc., Fort Lee, N.J., displayed contactless payment options. Marcelo De Lima, director of marketing for ViVOtech, said radio-frequency technology is also allowing cellular phones to become electronic wallets.Network connectivity
Getting more out of the pipe is how Sal Cinquegrani, spokesperson for New Edge Networks, Vancouver, Wash., described a growing need for retailers to make the most out of their company networks. New Edge is close to completion of a project that will allow the prioritization of data moving through DSL lines. Oftentimes, he said, companies with DSL connections want to handle everything from digital video to credit-card transactions over their broadband connections. The ability for a system to prioritize the data allows for better use of the line. The need for PCI compliance boosted business for Franklin, Tenn.-based Cybera Inc., according to a spokesperson. Jeremy Roe of Cybera said its private-network offer tackles many security issues for retailers conducting credit-card transactions. The company just opened a Web portal for clients to facilitate service inquiries.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.