the mobile pos effect - ris news
TRANSCRIPT
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in partnership with
As a direct link to the shopper, mobile POS has an impact far beyond transactions
The Mobile PoS effecT
Leveraging Mobile to Deliver the Integrated Customer Experience by linda palanza, oneview commerce chief operating officer
The store is where the customer and retailer meet face- to-face and where the opportunity to influence through emotion, conversation and one-to-one contact can immediately and directly shape buying decisions. This is where a mobile strategy — including not only the device, but also integration with enterprise systems — becomes a key driver for improving the customer experience. To be effective, the mobile strategy must have the power and capability to connect to and offer the best of every channel at that moment of direct one-to- one contact.
A key first step to an effective mobile strategy includes the elimination of data replication. Removing silos of identical data provides a consistent view of the retail landscape — one view of customers, one view of inventory, one view of orders. The mobile device then allows efficient delivery of this information wherever and whenever it is required to improve business operations.
When an integrated mobile strategy allows the mobile device to run as a stand-alone point of sale it delivers flexibility to transform the customer experience to meet buyer behavior, business objectives or competitive advantage. By leveraging a SOA, web services and business process management infrastructure as the foundation for the mobile strategy, the retailer has fluid components of the customer experience that capitalize on one-to-one store interaction while eliminating replication of data and the associated integration and maintenance issues.
OneView Commerce +1.617.279.0549 x2 [email protected] www.oneviewcommerce.com
Custom Research by joe skorupa
If a larger phenomenon in the evolution of stores has oc- curred than the rollout of mobile devices then it can only be one of the big three – barcode scanning, computerized POS stations and cash registers. This is an elite group and mobility clearly deserves to join the club. All are involved with improv- ing POS data records, but there is a big difference with mobil- ity. The impact of mobile devices goes far beyond business effi- ciency and penetrates deeply into the critical realms of shopper experience and customer satisfaction.
From a strategic perspective, retailers tell us in this month’s custom research report that the number one reason they are adding mobile POS devices to stores is to “better engage with shoppers.” This means retailers believe mobile devices are a direct link to providing or improving a wide variety of services
that were once only found on the Web, including sales assis- tance, decision making and problem resolution.
For this report we polled retailers in late June and early July to find out if the initial enthusiasm for mobile POS rollouts has picked up momentum or waned, to see if true mobile check- out functions will be turned on immediately or during a later phase, and to determine the impact of mobile POS projects on software and hardware choices, reduction of fixed POS units in stores, and trends to extend enterprise apps to the sales floor.
Advantages Trump Pain Points In the two years since Home Depot rolled out mobile POS to all its stores in 2010 a cadre of other leading retailers has also joined the mobile revolution. Some names are recognized lead-
As a direct link to the shopper, mobile POS has an impact far beyond transactions
The Mobile PoS effecT
2 AU G U S T 2 0 1 2 R I S N E W S . C O M
ers, such as Nordstrom, Disney Stores, Urban Outfitters and Lowe’s. Others are not noted for being in the vanguard, but the list is growing and the trend is pick- ing up momentum.
And yet, retail is a huge and cautious industry. When it comes to adopting advanced technology the traditional ap- proach is to let early adopters work out problems and then the mainstream fol- lows at a steady pace a few years later. In some respects this indeed appears to be the case with mobile POS.
Mobile POS, which has been in Ap- ple stores for more than 10 years, is now fully deployed in all stores for 3.4% of respondents. A small figure to be sure. Another 3.4% have fully deployed it in select stores. And another 6.9% say they are piloting it in test stores right now. (See Figure 1.)
Altogether 13.7% of retailers have mobile POS running live in stores today, which is significantly up from previous years. In research terms, when tracking deployment across the spectrum of the retail industry, a number in the teens falls into a category called “emerging status,” which means it still has a long way to go to achieve a broader, more mainstream penetration.
But mainstream status is clearly assured because the trend for future mobile POS is so strong. One quarter (24.1%) say they have budget in place
F I G U R E 1 F I G U R E 2
F I G U R E 3
F I G U R E 4
R I S N E W S . C O M AU G U S T 2 0 1 2 3
What is the status of mobile POS in your stores today?
From a strategic perspective, why are you adding or planning to add mobile POS to your stores?
What major pain points are of high concern to your mobile POS plans?
Will associates do checkout when mobile POS goes live?
Fully deployed in select stores
3.4%
3.4%
24.1% Will test in 2013 31%
No firm plans 31%
56.7%Checkout/ payment will be turned on later
43.3%
Updating/refreshing store experience
Save sales in case of stock outs
Level playing field with informed shoppers
Reduce POS costs/maintenance per store
Save long-tail sales of products not carried in stores
44.8%
41.4%
31%
20.7%
20.7%
13.8%
10.3%
48.3%
65.5%
86.2%
Creating additional technology silos
Users downloading insecure apps
Loss caused by damage
25%
39.3%
25%
21.4%
17.9%
17.9%
14.3%
10.7%
53.6%
50%
46.4%
46.4%
Mobile POS penetrates deeply into the critical realms of shopper experience and customer satisfaction.
Custom Research partnership with
Custom Research partnership with
R I S N E W S . C O M AU G U S T 2 0 1 2 4
to begin testing by the end of 2012 and an- other 31% say they will begin testing in 2013. These numbers indicate that by 2013 about 70% of retailers will be involved with mobile POS, either in the testing or rollout phases. (See Figure 1.)
From a strategic perspective, the reason for the fast pace of adoption is clear – to bet- ter engage with shoppers (chosen by an over- whelming 86.2%). Farther down the priority list are such highly touted benefits as saving sales in case of stock outs (20.7%), leveling the playing field with well-informed customers (20.7%) and saving long-tail sales of products not carried in stores (10.3%).
The only tactical benefit that rises to the level of a strategic priority in this chart is line busting (65.5%) due to its impact on improv- ing customer convenience. (See Figure 3.)
Prior to any major technology deployment a risk assessment must be made, so we asked re- tailers to identify their mobile POS pain points and it turned out they can be summed up in three words – security, security and security. Specifically, PCI security (53.6%), device se- curity (50%) and enterprise security (46.4%).
Aside from security, there is significant concern about managing multi-use by associ- ates (46.4%) and break/fix device management (39.3%). However, such frequently noted is- sues as device theft (25%) and loss caused by device damage (10.7%) are not cited as major concerns. (See Figure 4.)
To Transact or Not to Transact The first major question retailers must answer before moving forward with a mobile POS rollout is whether or not to enable checkout/ payment immediately. On this question retail- ers have strong opinions and they are divided. (See Figure 2.)
A narrow majority (56.7%) say that check- out/payment will be enabled immediately for their mobile POS rollouts. The way things are trending in the retail industry, this seems like the side that is aligned with the future.
However, those against immediate activa- tion of checkout/payment have reasons for their strongly held beliefs. Based on conversa- tions heard at industry gatherings, these rea-
While the largest block of retailers (more than two fifths) plan to extend their current POS to mobile devices, the rest of the indus- try is split among other options. One group of special note is the large rip-and-replace block (21.4%), who are using today’s mobile paradigm shift to leapfrog their old POS solu- tion and replace it with a new application. No doubt dissatisfaction with their current POS solution is driving this group to undertake a disruptive upgrade.
No consensus has yet emerged in response to the dilemma of whether to use retail-hard- ened or consumer-grade mobile devices. Each option was chosen by 27.6% of respondents. The natural inclination would be to see re-
sons include lack of alignment with the orga- nization’s business model, market niche, price point or store concept.
Despite being against immediate activation of checkout/payment, most retailers in this group intend to include it at the time of their mobile POS rollout to ensure it is baked in for future use.
Another point that is made abundantly clear in the data is that the preferred method of software deployment is extending the cur- rent POS software to mobile devices, which was chosen by 42.9%. So, a note to POS soft- ware vendors – the time to get your POS soft- ware ready for the mobile paradigm shift is right now. (See Figure 5.)
As you gather mobile POS information for deployment, which device factor is your top choice — retail hardened of consumer grade?
F I G U R E 6
What software is being used in your deployment of mobile POS?
F I G U R E 5
Extension of current POS
Extension of current e-commerce platform
Front-end mobile app that connects to POS
In-house developed
Custom Research partnership with
tailers favor retail-hardened devices and this would indeed be the case if B2B technology vendors could make their devices as appealing as the products made by faster-moving con- sumer-grade manufacturers. (See Figure 6.)
But this is not likely to happen within sev- eral years (if at all), so the majority of retailers are forced to use consumer-grade devices in their current deployments and pilot tests. As a result, the largest block of retailers (44.8%) plan to deploy both retail hardened and con- sumer-grade mobile POS devices for the fore- seeable future.
This insight is backed up by the next point, which is about retail preferences for mobile operating systems. Here, the king of consumer-grade technology, Apple, is chosen by an overwhelming 86.2% of respondents. The highest level of interest the two other top operating systems could muster (Microsoft Windows and Android) is roughly half that of Apple. (See Figure 7.)
Comments by respondents allow us to dig beneath the raw data and understand why Apple is the top choice. One retailer noted that “the intuitiveness of the native apps on the Apple OS make it a better option.” The re- tailer also calls attention to the “cool” factor, although not without adding a caveat about technical concerns. “The cool brand factor intrigues executives. Of course, IT has differ- ent thoughts about the value of cool, but right
R I S N E W S . C O M AU G U S T 2 0 1 2 5
Tactics of Deployment A mobile device is a Swiss Army knife of capa- bilities, but is that too much of a good thing? Possibly. Aside from full POS functionality, it turns out only two other functions were se- lected for deployment by a majority of retail- ers – inventory/product lookup (62.1%) and accessing the store website (55.2%). Deploy- ment plans for the rest of the long list showed scattered support, with some surprising func-
now the Apple OS has better traction.” Retailers in the non-Apple camp note the
“initial OS will be Apple, but we will quickly assess Windows once version 8 is in general release.” The reasoning behind this decision is noted as “Windows application dependency,” according to the respondent. Another reason is “that’s what our POS vendor supports. If they choose to support others, we can then consider them.”
In addition to POS, which functions are you (or will you be) using on your mobile POS devices?
Which operating systems will be (or are) part of your mobile deployment?
F I G U R E 8
F I G U R E 7
Apple
62.1%
55.2%
48.3%
41.4%
37.9%
37.9%
34.5%
34.5%
31%
27.6%
27.6%
17.2%
13.8%
A mobile device is a Swiss Army knife of capabilities, but is that a good thing? Possibly.
Custom Research partnership with
tions appearing near the bottom. Inventory/product lookup tops the list and
has topped every mobile function list in every study RIS has ever published on the topic. As previously noted, if mobile devices can im- prove by a small percentage (or fraction of a percentage) lost sales due to stock outs in stores then they will pay for themselves many times over. It is a no brainer. (See Figure 8.)
Most of the other functions in the top half of the priority list relate to supporting sales (line busting, arranging shipping, clienteling). Functions that appear in the lower half (some not shown here) include such non-sales func- tions as task management, associate punch in/ punch out, and visual merchandising. Mobile functions that are directly related to the cus- tomer experience and sales are the highest priorities.
It’s not surprising that initial plans for mobile POS rollouts call for deploying 1-2 devices per store, which is an option chosen by 55.2% of respondents. More interesting is that the number of devices planned per store jumps to the 3-5 range when viewed from a long-term perspective, according to 41.4% of respondents. This finding indicates that re- tailers plan to more than double their mobile POS devices per store after the initial rollout, a major takeaway in the study. (See Figure 9.)
This development has major implications for the role played by fixed POS stations in stores. Is it too soon to declare an end to physical stores being literally or figuratively designed around fixed POS stations? Does it signal the death of POS as we know it?
Not quite. Only 10.7% say they plan to ultimately remove all fixed POS stations from stores. However, a similarly low number say they will keep fixed POS stations at their current level (14.3%) in the long term. (See Figure 10.)
The biggest takeaway in the study is prob- ably the final one that emerges from answers to the last question asked. Here we find that more than one fifth of retailers (21.4%) plan to reduce the number of fixed POS stations per store by more five units. Why is this so significant?
R I S N E W S . C O M AU G U S T 2 0 1 2 6
If you are planning a mobile POS rollout, how many devices do you plan to deploy per store initially and long term?
F I G U R E 1 0
F I G U R E 9
MOBILE DEVICES PLANNED PER STORE INITIAL LONG TERM
1-2 55.2% 10.3%
2-3 17.2% 20.7%
3-5 10.3% 41.4%
>5 0.0% 20.7%
As you roll out mobile POS what are your long-term plans for traditional, fixed POS stations per store?
F I G U R E 1 1
Remove all fixed POS
Reduce by >5 units
Reduce by 3-5 units
Reduce by 2-3 units
Reduce by 1 unit
10.7%
10.7%
3.6%
32.1%
28.6%
14.3%
32.1%
28.6%
14.3%
What is the current number of fixed POS terminals in stores chainwide?
500 to 1,000 10.3%
1,000 to 2,000 3.4%
Custom Research partnership with
R I S N E W S . C O M AU G U S T 2 0 1 2 7
Removing 1-2 fixed-station POS units per store might indicate retailers are hedging their bets and testing the waters. But removing 5 or more indicates that a dramatic restructuring of the store is underway. (Note: The 21.4% figure is achieved by combining the number who say they will reduce fixed POS stations by more than 5% and those who say they will remove all fixed POS stations – both received 10.7%)
Clearly the tide is turning for a technology that has been the nerve center of stores for nearly 40 years, and the catalyst for change is mobile POS.
Methodology This study was conducted during the month of July and only senior executives from national or large regional retailers were invited to partici- pate. The results do not include any store-level, field-level or regional employees. Only head- quarters-level staff responses were included.
Conclusion While POS software remains a crucial store application and a platform that integrates to dozens of other applications, it is clearly un- dergoing a paradigm shift. The most dramatic manifestation of the shift is through mobile devices, which are rolling out across the retail landscape at dramatic speed.
Retailers see mobile-enabled POS as a di- rect link to improving the shopper experience and a source for breathing new life into the traditional store model, which is increasingly viewed as in need of resuscitation.
This report confirms that mobile POS is not merely riding a wave of hype, implying it could lose momentum when initial expecta- tions go unmet and enthusiasm fades. On the contrary, mobile POS is the real deal and fast becoming integral to successful retailing.
Whenever a paradigm shift occurs there is risk involved and it cuts both ways. Risk as- sociated with change and making mistakes is a legitimate concern, but so is the risk of waiting too long to catch up. Based on the speed that mobile POS is racing through the marketplace the latter point is carrying more weight than the former. RIS
F I G U R E 1 2
What is your organization’s annual revenue?
$100 million to $500 million
16.7%
10%
20%
What is the number of stores in your organization?
F I G U R E 1 3
How did your company’s sales revenue perform in the last 12 months?
20% More than 1,000
30% Less than 50
13.3% 50 to 100
23.3% 100 to 500
13.3% 500 to 1,000
10.7% Decreased
in partnership with
As a direct link to the shopper, mobile POS has an impact far beyond transactions
The Mobile PoS effecT
Leveraging Mobile to Deliver the Integrated Customer Experience by linda palanza, oneview commerce chief operating officer
The store is where the customer and retailer meet face- to-face and where the opportunity to influence through emotion, conversation and one-to-one contact can immediately and directly shape buying decisions. This is where a mobile strategy — including not only the device, but also integration with enterprise systems — becomes a key driver for improving the customer experience. To be effective, the mobile strategy must have the power and capability to connect to and offer the best of every channel at that moment of direct one-to- one contact.
A key first step to an effective mobile strategy includes the elimination of data replication. Removing silos of identical data provides a consistent view of the retail landscape — one view of customers, one view of inventory, one view of orders. The mobile device then allows efficient delivery of this information wherever and whenever it is required to improve business operations.
When an integrated mobile strategy allows the mobile device to run as a stand-alone point of sale it delivers flexibility to transform the customer experience to meet buyer behavior, business objectives or competitive advantage. By leveraging a SOA, web services and business process management infrastructure as the foundation for the mobile strategy, the retailer has fluid components of the customer experience that capitalize on one-to-one store interaction while eliminating replication of data and the associated integration and maintenance issues.
OneView Commerce +1.617.279.0549 x2 [email protected] www.oneviewcommerce.com
Custom Research by joe skorupa
If a larger phenomenon in the evolution of stores has oc- curred than the rollout of mobile devices then it can only be one of the big three – barcode scanning, computerized POS stations and cash registers. This is an elite group and mobility clearly deserves to join the club. All are involved with improv- ing POS data records, but there is a big difference with mobil- ity. The impact of mobile devices goes far beyond business effi- ciency and penetrates deeply into the critical realms of shopper experience and customer satisfaction.
From a strategic perspective, retailers tell us in this month’s custom research report that the number one reason they are adding mobile POS devices to stores is to “better engage with shoppers.” This means retailers believe mobile devices are a direct link to providing or improving a wide variety of services
that were once only found on the Web, including sales assis- tance, decision making and problem resolution.
For this report we polled retailers in late June and early July to find out if the initial enthusiasm for mobile POS rollouts has picked up momentum or waned, to see if true mobile check- out functions will be turned on immediately or during a later phase, and to determine the impact of mobile POS projects on software and hardware choices, reduction of fixed POS units in stores, and trends to extend enterprise apps to the sales floor.
Advantages Trump Pain Points In the two years since Home Depot rolled out mobile POS to all its stores in 2010 a cadre of other leading retailers has also joined the mobile revolution. Some names are recognized lead-
As a direct link to the shopper, mobile POS has an impact far beyond transactions
The Mobile PoS effecT
2 AU G U S T 2 0 1 2 R I S N E W S . C O M
ers, such as Nordstrom, Disney Stores, Urban Outfitters and Lowe’s. Others are not noted for being in the vanguard, but the list is growing and the trend is pick- ing up momentum.
And yet, retail is a huge and cautious industry. When it comes to adopting advanced technology the traditional ap- proach is to let early adopters work out problems and then the mainstream fol- lows at a steady pace a few years later. In some respects this indeed appears to be the case with mobile POS.
Mobile POS, which has been in Ap- ple stores for more than 10 years, is now fully deployed in all stores for 3.4% of respondents. A small figure to be sure. Another 3.4% have fully deployed it in select stores. And another 6.9% say they are piloting it in test stores right now. (See Figure 1.)
Altogether 13.7% of retailers have mobile POS running live in stores today, which is significantly up from previous years. In research terms, when tracking deployment across the spectrum of the retail industry, a number in the teens falls into a category called “emerging status,” which means it still has a long way to go to achieve a broader, more mainstream penetration.
But mainstream status is clearly assured because the trend for future mobile POS is so strong. One quarter (24.1%) say they have budget in place
F I G U R E 1 F I G U R E 2
F I G U R E 3
F I G U R E 4
R I S N E W S . C O M AU G U S T 2 0 1 2 3
What is the status of mobile POS in your stores today?
From a strategic perspective, why are you adding or planning to add mobile POS to your stores?
What major pain points are of high concern to your mobile POS plans?
Will associates do checkout when mobile POS goes live?
Fully deployed in select stores
3.4%
3.4%
24.1% Will test in 2013 31%
No firm plans 31%
56.7%Checkout/ payment will be turned on later
43.3%
Updating/refreshing store experience
Save sales in case of stock outs
Level playing field with informed shoppers
Reduce POS costs/maintenance per store
Save long-tail sales of products not carried in stores
44.8%
41.4%
31%
20.7%
20.7%
13.8%
10.3%
48.3%
65.5%
86.2%
Creating additional technology silos
Users downloading insecure apps
Loss caused by damage
25%
39.3%
25%
21.4%
17.9%
17.9%
14.3%
10.7%
53.6%
50%
46.4%
46.4%
Mobile POS penetrates deeply into the critical realms of shopper experience and customer satisfaction.
Custom Research partnership with
Custom Research partnership with
R I S N E W S . C O M AU G U S T 2 0 1 2 4
to begin testing by the end of 2012 and an- other 31% say they will begin testing in 2013. These numbers indicate that by 2013 about 70% of retailers will be involved with mobile POS, either in the testing or rollout phases. (See Figure 1.)
From a strategic perspective, the reason for the fast pace of adoption is clear – to bet- ter engage with shoppers (chosen by an over- whelming 86.2%). Farther down the priority list are such highly touted benefits as saving sales in case of stock outs (20.7%), leveling the playing field with well-informed customers (20.7%) and saving long-tail sales of products not carried in stores (10.3%).
The only tactical benefit that rises to the level of a strategic priority in this chart is line busting (65.5%) due to its impact on improv- ing customer convenience. (See Figure 3.)
Prior to any major technology deployment a risk assessment must be made, so we asked re- tailers to identify their mobile POS pain points and it turned out they can be summed up in three words – security, security and security. Specifically, PCI security (53.6%), device se- curity (50%) and enterprise security (46.4%).
Aside from security, there is significant concern about managing multi-use by associ- ates (46.4%) and break/fix device management (39.3%). However, such frequently noted is- sues as device theft (25%) and loss caused by device damage (10.7%) are not cited as major concerns. (See Figure 4.)
To Transact or Not to Transact The first major question retailers must answer before moving forward with a mobile POS rollout is whether or not to enable checkout/ payment immediately. On this question retail- ers have strong opinions and they are divided. (See Figure 2.)
A narrow majority (56.7%) say that check- out/payment will be enabled immediately for their mobile POS rollouts. The way things are trending in the retail industry, this seems like the side that is aligned with the future.
However, those against immediate activa- tion of checkout/payment have reasons for their strongly held beliefs. Based on conversa- tions heard at industry gatherings, these rea-
While the largest block of retailers (more than two fifths) plan to extend their current POS to mobile devices, the rest of the indus- try is split among other options. One group of special note is the large rip-and-replace block (21.4%), who are using today’s mobile paradigm shift to leapfrog their old POS solu- tion and replace it with a new application. No doubt dissatisfaction with their current POS solution is driving this group to undertake a disruptive upgrade.
No consensus has yet emerged in response to the dilemma of whether to use retail-hard- ened or consumer-grade mobile devices. Each option was chosen by 27.6% of respondents. The natural inclination would be to see re-
sons include lack of alignment with the orga- nization’s business model, market niche, price point or store concept.
Despite being against immediate activation of checkout/payment, most retailers in this group intend to include it at the time of their mobile POS rollout to ensure it is baked in for future use.
Another point that is made abundantly clear in the data is that the preferred method of software deployment is extending the cur- rent POS software to mobile devices, which was chosen by 42.9%. So, a note to POS soft- ware vendors – the time to get your POS soft- ware ready for the mobile paradigm shift is right now. (See Figure 5.)
As you gather mobile POS information for deployment, which device factor is your top choice — retail hardened of consumer grade?
F I G U R E 6
What software is being used in your deployment of mobile POS?
F I G U R E 5
Extension of current POS
Extension of current e-commerce platform
Front-end mobile app that connects to POS
In-house developed
Custom Research partnership with
tailers favor retail-hardened devices and this would indeed be the case if B2B technology vendors could make their devices as appealing as the products made by faster-moving con- sumer-grade manufacturers. (See Figure 6.)
But this is not likely to happen within sev- eral years (if at all), so the majority of retailers are forced to use consumer-grade devices in their current deployments and pilot tests. As a result, the largest block of retailers (44.8%) plan to deploy both retail hardened and con- sumer-grade mobile POS devices for the fore- seeable future.
This insight is backed up by the next point, which is about retail preferences for mobile operating systems. Here, the king of consumer-grade technology, Apple, is chosen by an overwhelming 86.2% of respondents. The highest level of interest the two other top operating systems could muster (Microsoft Windows and Android) is roughly half that of Apple. (See Figure 7.)
Comments by respondents allow us to dig beneath the raw data and understand why Apple is the top choice. One retailer noted that “the intuitiveness of the native apps on the Apple OS make it a better option.” The re- tailer also calls attention to the “cool” factor, although not without adding a caveat about technical concerns. “The cool brand factor intrigues executives. Of course, IT has differ- ent thoughts about the value of cool, but right
R I S N E W S . C O M AU G U S T 2 0 1 2 5
Tactics of Deployment A mobile device is a Swiss Army knife of capa- bilities, but is that too much of a good thing? Possibly. Aside from full POS functionality, it turns out only two other functions were se- lected for deployment by a majority of retail- ers – inventory/product lookup (62.1%) and accessing the store website (55.2%). Deploy- ment plans for the rest of the long list showed scattered support, with some surprising func-
now the Apple OS has better traction.” Retailers in the non-Apple camp note the
“initial OS will be Apple, but we will quickly assess Windows once version 8 is in general release.” The reasoning behind this decision is noted as “Windows application dependency,” according to the respondent. Another reason is “that’s what our POS vendor supports. If they choose to support others, we can then consider them.”
In addition to POS, which functions are you (or will you be) using on your mobile POS devices?
Which operating systems will be (or are) part of your mobile deployment?
F I G U R E 8
F I G U R E 7
Apple
62.1%
55.2%
48.3%
41.4%
37.9%
37.9%
34.5%
34.5%
31%
27.6%
27.6%
17.2%
13.8%
A mobile device is a Swiss Army knife of capabilities, but is that a good thing? Possibly.
Custom Research partnership with
tions appearing near the bottom. Inventory/product lookup tops the list and
has topped every mobile function list in every study RIS has ever published on the topic. As previously noted, if mobile devices can im- prove by a small percentage (or fraction of a percentage) lost sales due to stock outs in stores then they will pay for themselves many times over. It is a no brainer. (See Figure 8.)
Most of the other functions in the top half of the priority list relate to supporting sales (line busting, arranging shipping, clienteling). Functions that appear in the lower half (some not shown here) include such non-sales func- tions as task management, associate punch in/ punch out, and visual merchandising. Mobile functions that are directly related to the cus- tomer experience and sales are the highest priorities.
It’s not surprising that initial plans for mobile POS rollouts call for deploying 1-2 devices per store, which is an option chosen by 55.2% of respondents. More interesting is that the number of devices planned per store jumps to the 3-5 range when viewed from a long-term perspective, according to 41.4% of respondents. This finding indicates that re- tailers plan to more than double their mobile POS devices per store after the initial rollout, a major takeaway in the study. (See Figure 9.)
This development has major implications for the role played by fixed POS stations in stores. Is it too soon to declare an end to physical stores being literally or figuratively designed around fixed POS stations? Does it signal the death of POS as we know it?
Not quite. Only 10.7% say they plan to ultimately remove all fixed POS stations from stores. However, a similarly low number say they will keep fixed POS stations at their current level (14.3%) in the long term. (See Figure 10.)
The biggest takeaway in the study is prob- ably the final one that emerges from answers to the last question asked. Here we find that more than one fifth of retailers (21.4%) plan to reduce the number of fixed POS stations per store by more five units. Why is this so significant?
R I S N E W S . C O M AU G U S T 2 0 1 2 6
If you are planning a mobile POS rollout, how many devices do you plan to deploy per store initially and long term?
F I G U R E 1 0
F I G U R E 9
MOBILE DEVICES PLANNED PER STORE INITIAL LONG TERM
1-2 55.2% 10.3%
2-3 17.2% 20.7%
3-5 10.3% 41.4%
>5 0.0% 20.7%
As you roll out mobile POS what are your long-term plans for traditional, fixed POS stations per store?
F I G U R E 1 1
Remove all fixed POS
Reduce by >5 units
Reduce by 3-5 units
Reduce by 2-3 units
Reduce by 1 unit
10.7%
10.7%
3.6%
32.1%
28.6%
14.3%
32.1%
28.6%
14.3%
What is the current number of fixed POS terminals in stores chainwide?
500 to 1,000 10.3%
1,000 to 2,000 3.4%
Custom Research partnership with
R I S N E W S . C O M AU G U S T 2 0 1 2 7
Removing 1-2 fixed-station POS units per store might indicate retailers are hedging their bets and testing the waters. But removing 5 or more indicates that a dramatic restructuring of the store is underway. (Note: The 21.4% figure is achieved by combining the number who say they will reduce fixed POS stations by more than 5% and those who say they will remove all fixed POS stations – both received 10.7%)
Clearly the tide is turning for a technology that has been the nerve center of stores for nearly 40 years, and the catalyst for change is mobile POS.
Methodology This study was conducted during the month of July and only senior executives from national or large regional retailers were invited to partici- pate. The results do not include any store-level, field-level or regional employees. Only head- quarters-level staff responses were included.
Conclusion While POS software remains a crucial store application and a platform that integrates to dozens of other applications, it is clearly un- dergoing a paradigm shift. The most dramatic manifestation of the shift is through mobile devices, which are rolling out across the retail landscape at dramatic speed.
Retailers see mobile-enabled POS as a di- rect link to improving the shopper experience and a source for breathing new life into the traditional store model, which is increasingly viewed as in need of resuscitation.
This report confirms that mobile POS is not merely riding a wave of hype, implying it could lose momentum when initial expecta- tions go unmet and enthusiasm fades. On the contrary, mobile POS is the real deal and fast becoming integral to successful retailing.
Whenever a paradigm shift occurs there is risk involved and it cuts both ways. Risk as- sociated with change and making mistakes is a legitimate concern, but so is the risk of waiting too long to catch up. Based on the speed that mobile POS is racing through the marketplace the latter point is carrying more weight than the former. RIS
F I G U R E 1 2
What is your organization’s annual revenue?
$100 million to $500 million
16.7%
10%
20%
What is the number of stores in your organization?
F I G U R E 1 3
How did your company’s sales revenue perform in the last 12 months?
20% More than 1,000
30% Less than 50
13.3% 50 to 100
23.3% 100 to 500
13.3% 500 to 1,000
10.7% Decreased