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CONNECTING IN RETAIL: CONSISTENCY ACROSS DEVICESAn omni-channel, immersive experience can benefit customers and improve employee productivity

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Digital Retail Today

As retail outlets create or expand

their online presence, there is an-

other revolution afoot: the transfor-

mation to digital environments. By

embracing an increasingly digital

world, retailers are:

• offering mobile apps that create

personalized engagement

• outfitting storefronts with Wifi-

enabled devices like kiosks and

digital signage to create a richer

in-store customer experience

• providing employees with mobile

point-of-sale devices that access

an ever-growing range of front-of-

house and back-office applications.

This digital adoption has changed

the way information and new

devices are secured and managed

throughout their lifecycles. Where

traditional IT was focused in the

data center, retail work happens

everywhere, including company

headquarters, warehouses and dis-

tribution centers, online, and at the

point of sale—even in the custom-

er’s own hands.

The Second-Edge

Transformation

The past decade saw the first-edge

transformation, driven by the appli-

cation explosion. Loyalty, transac-

tion processing, and integration with

third-party support systems led to

the evolution from single-function to

multi-function smart devices, solved

by server virtualization as a means

of abstracting applications from un-

derling platforms to aggregate and

manage an ever-growing portfolio.

Today there is another edge trans-

formation under way, driven by

device proliferation and the Inter-

net of Things (IoT). Desktops and

laptops have been augmented by

tablets, smartphones, facial recog-

nition, digital price tags, cameras

and more—all requiring IT at the

edge to eliminate latency and de-

liver the best possible user experi-

ence. At the same time, the ubiqui-

ty of mobile devices has led to the

edgeless perimeter. Walls and wires

no longer define the network pe-

rimeter, which also creates security

challenges for retailers.

Device proliferation is the under-

lying driver for another trend in

retail: delivering an omni-channel

experience that enables customers

to combine their ecommerce and

storefront interactions into a seam-

less, immersive experience. This is

critical because engaged consumers

buy 90% more frequently and spend

60% more per transaction, accord-

ing to consultancy firm Rosetta.

Together, these trends are accel-

erating the digital transformation,

by which retailers can gain many

benefits including:

• Speeding and streamlining

transactions to service more

customers and improve percep-

tion of the in-store experience;

• Omni-channel commerce that

provides a transparent buying

experience for consumers to

purchase when, how, and where

they want;

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CONNECTING IN RETAIL: CONSISTENCY ACROSS DEVICES 2

• Access to customer purchase

history, including where con-

sumers were when they browsed,

shopped, and made their pur-

chases, along with records of

positive and negative interactions

with retail employees and sup-

port staff.

Retail Users: Who they are,

what they want

Enterprises are deploying modern

technologies to gain a competitive

edge. By taking advantage of trends

like big data analytics, mobility, the

cloud, and IoT, and then integrating

with suppliers’ systems, retailers can

provide new services such as the

“endless aisle” shopping experience.

But who are the ultimate users of

new retail technology, and what are

their wants and needs?

Retail CustomersCustomers want a connected expe-

rience, not just a shopping trip. It’s a

sentiment echoed by Neil Blumen-

thal, co-CEO of eyeglass retailer

Warby Parker, who said in Forbes: “I don’t think retail is dead. Mediocre

retail experiences are dead.”

Customers want a personalized re-

lationship with retailers, with more

than half of shoppers willing to pay

more for an experience they value,

according to Rosetta.

It’s increasingly critical to provide an

omni-channel experience that spans

computer, tablet, smartphone, and

in-store kiosk, delivering mobility

with context. It must enable cus-

tomers to start shopping online at

home and complete the purchase

at a self-service kiosk or with the

assistance of a retail employee.

Digital-native buyers favor an immer-

sive, even game-like experience that

delivers pricing transparency whether

online or in-store, and that simplifies

access to gift registries and loyalty

programs. In fact, loyalty from mil-

lennials can make or break a retailer:

Accenture predicts that spending

power for this digital-first generation

will reach $1.4 trillion by 2020.

Employee ExpectationsLikewise, retail staffers and man-

agement want to take advantage

of the latest in hardware and

software to simplify their jobs—and

drive top-line revenue by leverag-

ing an improved customer experi-

ence to increase sales.

As retailers evolve to a more hybrid

IT approach, applications and data

often reside in multiple locations.

Even so, employees expect a simple,

single sign-on that populates every

business application with all the

data they need to perform trans-

actions, locate inventory, or direct

customers to promotional items,

whether that application resides in

the cloud or on a centralized server.

Employees also want the same

transparent, omni-channel experi-

ence as customers, translating to

seamless access from shared, per-

sonal, or corporate devices, wheth-

er front or back of house.

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Additionally, employees want their

devices to gather data that helps

provide recognition for their ef-

forts in closing big sales, improving

processes, or engendering loyalty

through their efforts.

Finally, employees and retailers expect

devices and data to be secure from

cyber attacks, offering a level of se-

curity that gives confidence to both

themselves and their customers.

Immersive Shopping Emerges

Both customers and employees see

the benefits of an immersive shop-

ping experience. Just as gamers are

drawn into their virtual environments,

a fully shaped buyer’s journey cre-

ates stronger bonds among retailers

and the people who interact with

them. Research backs it up: A study

by Synchrony showed that 77% of

shoppers are more loyal to stores

that provide the best experiences.

Expectations run high. Both cus-

tomers and employees demand

mobility and connectivity that

delivers a frictionless shopping

experience, whether in home or at

the store. Improved buying oppor-

tunities drive better engagement,

and better engagement drives

higher loyalty to the brand.

The question for many retailers is

how to achieve an immersive shop-

ping environment, and how to do so

quickly and cost effectively without

introducing new security or IT man-

agement complications.

Retail’s Tech Challenges

For many retailers, existing IT can

inhibit the move to an omni-chan-

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nel, immersive experience. For

example, most legacy applications

were developed in silos, often with

different teams working on differ-

ent servers, databases, and cloud

types. As a result, retailers must

integrate data sequestered in oper-

ational silos, on infrastructure that

can’t scale to deliver the complex

analytics required.

Organizations without a hybrid

IT strategy—which includes a mix

of cloud, on premises, and client

devices—will suffer from the inabil-

ity to support workloads as they

evolve and move from platform to

platform. In fact, they are already

behind the technology curve.

This underlines the need for IT mod-

ernization to support new platforms,

applications, and devices, providing

the tools to empower the digital

workplace for frictionless shopping.

Retail Cybersecurity

As retailers rely on an increasing

number of applications and devices,

the cyber-attack surface also in-

creases. With the Ponemon Institute

reporting in 2017 that retail breaches

cost $154 per record, a major breach

can have serious bottom-line impli-

cations, including soft costs such as

loss of brand loyalty and goodwill.

Securing retail transactions is a

growing challenge, thanks to the

increasing complexity of omni-chan-

nel environments. To that end, new

approaches must secure everything

from application infrastructure to

user, ID management and endpoints,

while streamlining compliance and

elevating customer trust levels.

A Novel Approach

To meet these growing challenges,

VMware and Google have joined

forces to deliver a connected, im-

mersive experience. The partners

address three critical factors in the

retail stack:

1. A secure, dynamic retail infra-

structure that can support on

premises, public cloud, and

SaaS components;

2. Intelligent retail data that pro-

vides the foundation of ad-

vanced big data analytics;

3. Connected retail experiences

that leave the customer with a

positive impression and a desire

to return for more.

Devices are the key component

tying these factors together. They

must be ruggedized or purpose-

built for both front- and back-of-

house use. And they should be

based on open standards for sim-

plicity and flexibility, as is the case

with Android enterprise.

Because devices are often shared

between multiple users, say for

different shifts, the ability to swap

devices and get the necessary

applications or configuration is also

critical. For browser-based appli-

cations, Chrome devices provide

the stability and compatibility with

the broadest range of applications

and devices, further easing retailer

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Organizations without a hybrid IT strategy— which includes a mix of cloud, on premises, and client devices—will suffer from the inability to support workloads as they evolve and move from platform to platform.

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development efforts for immersive

experiences, whether from the cus-

tomer’s or employee’s perspective.

For store managers, Chrome devic-

es offer all the functionality needed

to drive efficiency, along with the

simplicity that speeds onboarding

of new hires or temps.

Increasingly, in-store kiosks are tak-

ing their place alongside digital sig-

nage, enabling retailers to promote

exclusive offers while minimizing

the effort of in-store staff. In addi-

tion, IoT devices are making their

way into retail include Bluetooth

beacons, as well as thermal and

footfall sensors that can pinpoint

which “low foot traffic” merchandise

should go on sale.

Most importantly for all devices is

that every form factor provides a

consistent, simple experience, and

that the retail infrastructure can

simply push personalization for

customers and employees, as well

as push policies and applications to

retail devices with little or no user

interaction to enhance both security

and compliance mandates.

Google powers devices with their

open-source operating systems,

Android and Chrome OS, that are

available in all form factors and

price points. For example:

• HDMI-connected Chromebits—

about the size of a USB storage

device—can power digital displays

• All-in-one Chromebase touch-

screen devices become power-

ful kiosks

• Chromebook laptops, whether

clamshell or convertible, can be

ruggedized and spill-proofed to

military specifications for virtu-

ally any application in a broad

range of sizes for managers in

stores, for use in warehouses,

and for employee training

• Chromebox devices can be

the power for digital signs and

kiosks or fixed workstations

• Android comes in multiple form

factors such as tablets can be

used as kiosks or mPOS, and

ruggedized devices that work in

nearly any environment

These devices combine to deliver

the most powerful in-store experi-

ence possible today.

Becoming Cloud-First

Devices alone can’t power immer-

sive user experiences. The applica-

tions that drive retail engagement

are equally important, which is

why the VMware-Google

partnership takes a

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cloud-first approach to delivering

this unique environment. Retailers

gain powerful benefits from an

enhanced enterprise computing

platform that combines the speed,

simplicity, and security of Chrome

OS with unified endpoint and

application management inherent

in Workspace ONE, powered by

VMware AirWatch unified endpoint

management technology.

First, efficiency and control are

greatly increased by integrating the

management of Chrome devices

with all other endpoints, because

VMware AirWatch is currently the

only third-party solution with access

to Chrome’s management APIs.

Next, the combination of Chrome

and Workspace ONE enables secure

and consistent end-user access to

all cloud, Web, native, and virtual ap-

plications, which means teams can

work productively from anywhere

while businesses are protected

end-to-end with multi-layer security

that protects employees, endpoint

devices, and application data.

By combining Chrome devices with

VMware’s Workspace ONE digital

workspace, employees gain sim-

ple, secure, and managed access

to virtually any app on any device,

thanks to integrated access control

and management.

Why the time is now

Every retailer is looking for a com-

petitive edge. VMware and Google

can accelerate a retailer’s transfor-

mation, enabling the type of im-

mersive customer experience that

deepens customer loyalty, eases

employee paperwork, and unifies

applications and workflows by

breaking down silos—all at a lower

cost than legacy solutions. Here are

a few use cases to consider:

Beacon notifications: As customers

increasingly use their mobile devices

in-store, these push notifications can

personalize their shopping experi-

ences, offering them customized dis-

counts, offers, or welcome greetings.

Endless aisle shopping: Devices

not only promote key products,

they also enable online purchases

of out-of-stock items, a feature that

appeals to 89% of shoppers.

Seamless checkout with up-selling

opportunities: Employees can en-

hance the checkout processes by

using devices that support sugges-

tive selling and mobile payments,

reducing wait times and promoting

customized products.

Staff training: Onboarding and

training of new employees can be

accelerated by using Google tools

including G suite, YouTube for vid-

eos, and shared devices that lower

overall costs.

Consistent in-store shopping

experiences: An example of this

is Brooks Brothers, which rolls out

seasonal displays to multiple loca-

tions across a region. This ensures

the same look and feel thanks to

planograms that determine every

product’s placement in a store.

Getting StartedDeliver an immersive

experience that will

delight customers and

improve employee

productivity.

Click here to discover

how VMware and

Google can drive

business success.

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