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2012.16 | New Canadian Notes & Coins – The Whole Story

April 30, 2012 by Tim Dickey 2 Comments

The past number of months has seen an unprecedented change in the physical composition of Canadian Currency.  I have spent many hours over the past weeks and months discussing new physical currency, and I’ve not seen a single resource of detailed information on this subject anywhere.

For the greater good of Canadians trying to navigate the various changes, here is an overview of all of the changes and what retailers need to consider.

A large part of the challenge in navigating these changes is that there is no single body responsible for all of these changes together.  The Bank of Canada is responsible for design, production and distribution of Canada’s paper currency.  The Royal Canadian Mint is responsible for minting Canada’s circulation coins.  As far as the decision to eliminate the penny, the Governor of the Bank of Canada works with Canada’s Minister of Finance on monetary policy.

To provide a simple straightforward overview, all of the changes that have occurred and are planned to occur to Canada’s notes and coins are highlighted in the chart above.   Note that these dates are based on publicly available information as of April 30, 2012 and are subject to change as per the Bank of Canada and the Royal Canadian Mint.  Ensure you consult their sites to validate if any changes have occurred.

Note Changes 

To enhance security and provide more durable currency, Canada has a plan to replace all paper based currency with polymer notes.  Two out of five replacement circulation notes have been released so far, and the other three notes will be replaced in the next year or so.

Key changes include a change to polymer from paper, as well a transparent window down the side, a maple leaf with a clear border, and various other security features.  The notes are obviously physically different though they are physically the same size.

For full details on the changes to notes, I recommend the following links:

Bank of Canada – Bank Notes

Bank of Canada Polymer Notes Retailer Resources

Bank of Canada – Checking Notes

As per the notes in the Bank of Canada website, retailers and all consumer facing organizations that handle cash should ensure staff are prepared to accept the new notes.  Ensure that they are  aware of the security features of the new series.  Retailers should also ensure that any cash handling equipment is able to handle the new polymer notes.  While they are the same size and most cash drawers will not require any changes, there are many technology solutions in place that are more sophisticated and they may require changes to handle the new notes.

Retailers should be certain to contact solution providers to validate if changes are required to any equipment.

Coin Changes

As part of cost reduction initiative, $1 and $2 coins were changed to steel composition from nickel this April.  The new coins are physically the same size as the previous releases, but are noticeably lighter compared to older coins.  While I’ve not actually weighed the coins and compared them on a sensitive scale, this change may impact weight based coin counting.  The new coins have distinctive maple leaves stamped into them so that they are easily recognized as steel based coins.  Canada 2 Dollars is also stamped around the outside diameter of the $2 coins.

For full details on the changes to the $1 and $2 coins, I recommend the following link:

Royal Canadian Mint – New $1 and $2 coins

Retailers should also ensure that any cash handling equipment is able to handle the new coins.  While they are the same size and thickness and most cash drawers will not require any changes, there are many technology solutions in place that are more sophisticated and they may require changes to handle the new coins.

Retailers should be certain to contact solution providers to validate if changes are required to any equipment.

Canada Penny Elimination

As part of the 2012 Canada Federal Budget, it was made public that the penny will be discontinued in 2012 based on their declining utility and a cost of production that exceeded value.  The coins are no longer being minted as of April 2012, and the Government of Canada has indicated that Financial Institutions will no longer distribute pennies as of Fall 2012.

Canada will use a rounding strategy like those used in Australia, New Zealand and Sweden to make the change.  All cash transactions will be rounded to the nearest nickel after applicable taxes.  Transactions ending in .01 and .02 will round to .00.  Transactions ending in .03 and .04 will round to .05.  Transactions ending in .06 and .07 will round to .05.  Transactions ending in .08 and .09 will round to .10.

Debit and credit based transactions will still be rounded to .01.

For full details on the changes to the $1 and $2 coins, I recommend the following links:

Budget 2012 – Eliminating the Penny

Fact Sheet and FAQ – Businesses

Fact Sheet and FAQs – Rounding

The Penny Elimination project represents some interesting challenges to retailers.  With the rather vague deadline of Fall 2012, it’s unclear when the new rounding process should be implemented.  I expect the Retail Council of Canada to call for some additional clarity around the timing as fall 2012 approaches.  I encourage retailers to voice these or any other concerns to the RCC.

While the government documentation notes that there are no changes required to cash registers, and that is technically true, there will be some work required.  Large scale retailers are unlikely to leave the rounding in the hands of store staff, and change calculations should be rounded based on tender.  There will also be changes required to self service solutions like ticketing kiosks and self-checkouts to accommodate the logic changes to transactions.

Retailers should be certain to contact their solution providers to validate what changes are required and to get a plan in place to time the change.

dining & qsr, food & drug, general merchandise, retail
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2012.14 | Technology and Timing

April 19, 2012 by Tim Dickey 0 Comments

It’s fascinating to me that ideas that are becoming reality now are those that would never even have been considered even a few years ago.  The increasing comfort of the general public with mobile computing and touchscreens as well as increasing reliability, and decreasing costs are removing barriers at an increasing rate of speed.   Consider a few examples.

Scan and Ship – Looks like the HomePlus experiment of scanning virtual shelves to populate a shopping cart on the mobile has started a bit of a trend.  Well.ca did the same thing in Canada, Giant in the US and others have been giving it a try as well.  It’s a simple extension of current technology and has a low barrier to entry, so why not?  Smart phones are increasingly common, there is some novelty to it, and most everyone is now comfortable with online purchases.  Sounds obvious, but this wasn’t always the case.

Phone Booth 2.0 – It seems NYC is experimenting with touchscreen kiosks in former phone booths.  Once again, why not?  It’s a good use of current space.  The phone booths provide some infrastructure needed for a kiosk or digital signage implementation – a metal frame with some weatherproofing, connectivity and proximity to a large base of potential users and viewers.  The offering is at no cost to the city, and presumably would be paid for by advertisements and chargeable services.


Biometric ATMs – NCR offered iris scan solutions some years ago but it never caught on; ahead of its time perhaps.  A Japanese bank is experimenting with ATMs that use palm readers to identify users.   In the past, I would have a lot of questions on the potential value and concerns around privacy.

Customers today are increasingly interested lightening their wallet and not having to remember to carry a card.  Millennials are more confident with technology and are willing to try something for the fun factor.  Corporations are always interested in providing the appearance of being forward thinking and tech savvy.  The Japanese are used to using a mobile to interface with an ATM, so perhaps this is a natural progression.

Wayfinding – It’s easy to forget a time we didn’t have google maps and cheap and easy to use GPS units, as they have become so embedded in our lives.  Taking that ease of direction into buildings – like malls or stores has ever been the elusive last mile.  Wayfinding projects in store are challenging because of the constantly shifting nature of retail.  As displays and stores are constantly rearranged, even if someone sets up a kiosk to find items in the store, it is either wrong, or requires constant updating – a challenging effort that rarely seems to reward the work required.  Perhaps the first step towards crossing this mile comes is a tool from Google.  Google is offering Google Maps Floor Plans to start to map out the indoors.  While it doesn’t get products in place, it does begin to provide some help in larger venues.

I’d like to think that at some point Electronic Shelf Label could have a unique id on them that could be shared with a mobile device that would allow the user to find an item based on the location of the ESL.

food & drug, general merchandise, retail
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2012.13 | iPad as Point of Sale Device

April 10, 2012 by Tim Dickey 0 Comments

Given the ubiquity of the iPad, the adoration of the general public of the device, and my own personal ongoing interest and use of this device, consideration of using an iPad as a point of sale solution is a worthy point of discussion. After all, the word of our current age is innovation – we should embrace potential change such as this, and see where it may lead us. In the end, like every other solution in retail or otherwise, it’s about ROI, and if the iPad can deliver; why not?

As someone who has had an iPad since it was possible to get one and who has logged many a mile on it, it is a dream device for me personally. Convenient, simple, and incredibly multi-faceted, I use it every day and constantly. One of the most entertaining things about having an iPad is finding new uses for it and new apps to try.

For those of us who embrace it, it should come as no surprise that retailers are experimenting with it – evaluating different applications and apps in the store. There are many offerings that are fundamentally predicated on using an iPad as a POS: Square, Revel, Paypal, and there is an upcoming NCR solution to be released in June. (And yes, for full disclosure, I’m an NCR employee)

While payment processing is certainly a key element of the decision for these solutions, let’s set that aside for the moment and consider iPad from a hardware perspective. As much as we all want to skip the whole question and play with apps, the hardware should be fully considered from a usability and ROI perspective. In some ways the iPad is a hardware platform that can enable solutions we have dreamed about for years; in others it falls short.

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The Positives:

Hardware Cost – iPad 2 units are now available at reduced rates, and can be had for as low as $419. Given that a retail hardened POS terminal is more like $800 to $1,000, the up front purchase price is certainly attractive – particularly for a small business. Keep in mind that a stand will also be necessary which will add $100 to $200 to the cost depending on the model and type, but it’s still quite affordable to obtain.

Displays – Because iPad is put out in such volume and has the latest technology, they have vibrant bright screens. The touchscreen is capacitive (my option of choice), and does not require calibration. In a nutshell, the touch display looks great and they work very well.

Durability – iPad is made for the consumer market – notorious for hard usage. For general use in a specialty or relatively clean and simple QSR environment, it will suffice as well. While I had initial misgivings about its durability, my experience with retailers is that it has lasted better than anticipated in real world retail environments. It’s definitely getting use and doing well.

Small Footprint – As you can see from pictures of the unit, it requires little space on a counter and can provide just about the smallest footprint possible; especially if you want to go full urban hipster mode with no receipt printer or cash drawer.

Software Updates – While the focus is on hardware, the apple ecosystem is hard to ignore as a point of the solution. Depending on the application used, software updates can be very simple even for the novice user. If the solution is cloud based, users would not have to do anything other than perhaps change the address to which their browser is pointing. For app based users, the app store is a familiar interface, and updating apps is a relatively simple matter.

Network – Cloud based offerings are a tremendous area of growth and I embrace them myself. I use Dropbox, iCloud and more. The challenge with a retail business is that when these services are down, the business is down. In the past I would have expressed concern about this, but reliability of these services is quite high and improving. Data centers like Apples and Amazons make this possible.

Extensibility – The iPad is a great platform to add apps as discussed. Many retailers are using the iPad for manager’s tools, inventory, and more. Why not add point of sale capability to the units?

On the whole, the iPad represents a tremendously viable point of sale platform for the right environment, subject to the availability of apps and payment processing interfaces to suit retailer and customer needs.

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The Negatives:

Cost – While the iPad is slightly cheaper to obtain, the jury is out on how long they last. I’ve worked with some retailers who have used notebooks in retail environments for point of sale or sales tools. They lasted about 3 years. While you could argue that a user could just throw the unit out and buy another one, remember that retail hardened POS terminals are designed to last 7-10 years, and I’ve seen some last much longer. There are retailers running DOS because it’s working just fine. Also, while the hardened units are slightly more expensive, they do allow for simple modular repair, dual hard drive capability, remote supportability, software lockdown and more.

Displays - The iPad screen looks bright, but if I had come out to retailers and told them I had the best new point of sale solution in the world and it has a 9.7 inch screen, I would have been laughed out the door – and rightfully so. The screens are a bit small for a point of sale application in my experience. I’ve seen 12″ work well, and most retailers seem to think 15″ provides a good combination of real estate and visibility for the client and the retail associate. Some also accept 17″ displays, but it depends on the environment and the point of sale platform. The reflection on the iPad display can be difficult to read in brightly lit retail environments – particularly with the new intense lighting in some stores.

Durability – The consumer market is one thing, but the whole gamut of retail is another. While the iPads have been lasting well to date, and I’m sure they will do so, they haven’t yet had to deal with 7-10 years of dust. They haven’t dealt spills of a full drinks and survived (I have a friend who left an iPad outside in the rain over night; sadly it could not be resuscitated.) They are not made to deal with the head of direct sunlight – a challenge in some glassed in environments. (if you’ve ever used one outside in the sun, you may have experienced the automatic shutdown). While the iPads work very very well, they may be less able to accommodate more rugged requirements like DIY warehouse stores and intense QSR environments.

Small Footprint – While the iPad itself is smaller, if you have to use a cash drawer, printer and scanner, you won’t save that much real estate. Also note that the peripherals are effectively the same as those used on a regular point of sale device today, though some others have come out. I expect there will be some answers around this.

Batteries - One thing they never show in the pictures of these solutions is the power cord – it doesn’t look as pretty without the cable plugged in. The batteries do last a long time, but the units will always be on in a retail environment. Some solutions provide a battery pack which adds some battery life, but wherever there are batteries, there are people forgetting to charge them. It will be important to include a reminder to charge overnight – perhaps a dock – and to always keep a cord on hand.

Software Providers – Another brief comment on software. While Square and Paypal are both huge names right now, they are effectively offering a POS solution as a loss leader for payments processing. That means that retailers are locked into a POS solution based on their payments module. Retailers won’t care about this until they realize that to move they will have to update all of their inventory on to another system. This solution model is working very well today, and it may very well continue to do so and I hope it does. I think it can work, but it is a risk to consider. Retailers are in business for the long haul, and well as they have done, this is a new business model with relatively new players.

Chip and Pin – I’ve seen some interesting solutions to deal with Chip and Pin (using a pin pad to enter a code for card payments – we do that here in Canada) on iPod touch units with sleds. In America, they can use dongles in the headphone jack of the iPad, or in the bottom port, but in Canada that does not fly. Without Chip and Pin, this thing is a non-starter in the Canadian environment. There needs to be integration to a pin pad solution, but I’m not yet aware of one. Most pinpads are currently on RS-232 (sorry no ports on iPad), or on IP – that might work. Someone has to make that work before this can happen in Canada. Let me know if you have heard of any!

Solution Roadmap – iPad and all iDevices are on notoriously short roadmaps. Seen an iPod Classic lately? Didn’t think so. As a consumer device, it is entirely Apple’s prerogative to release new units every year – to change the size – to max out the screen resolution, to change the IOS platform, to add and remove ports and more – all at their whim. This may be fine, but it may start to impact a user that has an older unit. Will they be forced to upgrade because of changing specs? Will they have to source a different mount, a different payment device, a different peripheral at short notice as the units change every year?

Network – iPad only uses wifi. While this may not be a problem for some retailers, others are concerned about providing access to wifi networks in their businesses. I’ve also found that while I’ve had some rock solid experiences with wifi, some of my apple products will constantly lose connectivity with my wifi network, and the only way to fix it is to reset the router/modem. It’s a small issue, but worth thinking about.

I point out these issues not to rail against the iPad, but to point out potential obstacles. Sometimes in the rush towards new technology, these items can be overlooked. Better to have the issues in mind when looking to implement and consider them carefully prior to moving forward to ensure the best possible customer and store staff experience possible.

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On the whole, the potential of the iPad as a retail device is incredible. The millions sold are a testament to the strength of the iPad, and the following behind it.
 
In my opinion, the iPad will see a great deal of use as the main point of sale device in a boutique independent environment to start. It lacks some of the power and performance needed by top tier retailers – particularly given their investment in complex and sophisticated point of sale, inventory, and ERP solutions that can’t be changed at a moment’s notice. However, as point of sale platforms continue to progress, you can expect to see those platforms leverage the iPad in some way. iPad or not, the point of sale device is definitely changing.
dining & qsr, food & drug, general merchandise, retail
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2012.12 | The End of Money?

April 3, 2012 by Tim Dickey 0 Comments

Having finished The End of Money last week, I can recommend it as a useful overview of all of the issues concerning a move to a cashless (or cash “less”) society.   I was particularly taken with the concept that all of us perceive and hold true the “value” of paper money, though effectively it is our faith in monetary instruments like cash that gives us that perception of value and nothing more.

We are so close to our money and monetary system, that we rarely stop to think about it.  The book underscored that point for me more than any other.  Money and gold are really just proxies of value that we perceive as instruments that can ‘hold’ value for us over time and make value transferable.  Taking the time to think about it, it’s quite incredible that we have somehow all agreed to this arrangement as a society; but we have.

I was also deeply affected by reading ‘Digital wallet’ will transform smartphone and how we spend in the Globe and Mail last week.  While the article revealed nothing new and was sketchy on details, the vitriole in the 335 comments was somewhat disconcerting.  Many of the comments from unsurprisingly anonymous accounts expressed outright hostility towards the idea.

While I have been enthusiastically anticipating and already using digital alternatives to cash, there are many individuals who are vehemently against a digital wallet.  As described in “The End of Money”, there are massive and pervasive concerns around this technology in the general public.

Some concerns outlined in the 335 Globe and Mail comments included:

  • being forced to use a particular payment network
  • transactions being tracked by banks, government, network owners and others
  • no privacy for transactions
  • account numbers and value being stolen
  • being forced to have and use a mobile device
  • being forced to use a mobile network like Rogers, Bell or Telus and paying them a cut of transactions
  • providing no additional value to citizens
  • ‘hackers’ taking over the system (by the way, the terms hackers and cyber anything have to be removed from the common lexicon – this is not the age of the information superhighway)
  • criminals stealing account information just from proximity the owner (NFC)
  • what to do when there is no electricity or your mobile device has no power
  • corporate organizations usurping or becoming a crucial transport to the sovereign responsibility of government for currency
There are many rational arguments in this list.  Almost all of them are issues today based on debit and credit payments.  Replace mobile device with card or mobile carrier with bank or processor, and the concerns are almost identical, be it a mobile wallet or a debit or credit card.
And yet, as I also found in The Future of Money, cash is not a panacea.  While cash can potentially provide anonymous, electricity free portability and ease of transaction in a way that no current widely used electronic format can, there are many issues around the complexity of cash – though they are more apparent to retailers to consumers.
In Canada we have had numerous reminders of the complexity of cash, but most consumers don’t think about them as complexities.
  • On March 26, a new $50 note was released to reduce counterfeiting of large denominations and increase acceptance of these notes.
  • Last week it was announced that pennies will be no longer be minted, and will be removed from circulation in Canada to save the cost of producing them – which has exceeded their value for some time.
  • The Royal Canadian Mint is in the midst of releasing new versions of the $1 and $2 coin (okay, loonies and toonies) which replace nickel composition with steel – once again, to reduce the cost of minting.

For most, these are news items for discussion with friends and colleagues.   For retailers and other consumer facing organizations, these are logistical issues that have to be carefully considered and dealt with.  Vending machines, self-checkouts, self service kiosks, cash drawers, cash counting equipment, counterfeiting measures, store associate training, taxes on purchases, rounding to five cents on cash purchases, end of day balancing procedures, and more all have to be considered.  All of them require time, effort, and more cost.

While the average consumer may consider these issues irrelevant to them, these are costs that are passed on to them one way or another.  If a retailer can find a way to deal with transacting more cheaply in a way that suits a target market, they should do so, tradition or no, and use that competitive advantage to win business.

So, what is the answer?  The answer is choice.

The issue I had with the comments on the Globe and Mail article was that people were basically responding as though they are being told cash is being eliminated and they have to use an electronic wallet.  That is not the case.  There will be cash, there will be debit and there will be credit for the foreseeable future.  There will also be electronic wallets.  These digital modes of transaction are currently options; not requirements.

There are all sorts of people and transactions in the world, and they should all be able to transact in the manner that they wish.  Cash, Debit, Credit and eWallets can all play a role.  [Don't believe the eWallet hype? - check out mPesa.]

Electronic wallets are imperfect for many reasons.  It’s absolutely true.  So are debit and credit cards.   There is fraud, there is theft, there are many inconveniences associated with using cards.  And yet 65-70% and more of many Canadian retailers’ transactions are made via debit and credit.

Somewhere, somehow, somebody is going to evaluate the list of bullets in this post and see opportunity; see a missed chance to do things better.  With emerging technologies, and changing consumer attitudes to mobile and electronic transactions, it’s only a matter of time until mobile digital wallet options become a bigger proportion of the payments people make.

As retail technology professionals, we should ensure that all of the infrastructure we put into place provides the flexibility to accommodate future payment modalities – whatever they may be.  Reading “The End of Money” provides a great background on why we should be ready for these new payment models.  Understanding the history helps to drive us into the future.

From my perspective, the Government of Canada is responsible for the money supply including the Bank of Canada and the Royal Canadian Mint.   They should be considering how Canada can move from a cash based society to a cashless society.  They should remember that they are not printers or minters – they represent monetary value in Canada and should continue to play that role electronically if it suits their constinuents.   They have already made a jump moving to polymer from paper.  Perhaps their next move should be silicon.

All of the national banks around the world should be considering this or find a way to harness private enterprises in this effort – before Apple-Square-Google-Paypal-Starbucks-BumpPay-GeodeWallet or others do it for them.

Update:  The Royal Canadian Mint has obviously been thinking the same way.

dining & qsr, food & drug, general merchandise, retail
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2012.11 Mobile Pizza | Produce Scanning | Pay with Square

March 28, 2012 by Tim Dickey 0 Comments

Mobile Pizza – Love this new bluetooth fridge magnet to order Pizza from Red Tomato in UAE.  On receipt, customers sync the bluetooth magnet to their mobile phone once, and then whenever they want pizza, they press the button on the fridge and their favourite order is automatically placed for delivery to their home.  The customer gets a confirmation text and a pizza for dinner.  Hope the battery on that thing lasts for a while.  Great and novel idea.

Produce Image Scan – Toshiba TEC recently showed off a new scanning solution that enables scanning of produce with images in order to speed checkout.  The imagers can apparently recognize the produce held in front of them instead of the more traditional methods of requiring a barcode, PLU code or the use of a pick list on paper or electronically.

Interestingly while this is touted as a new solution, I have seen versions of this technology for some years now – most often by scale manufacturers.  Imaging is certainly much better than it was even a few years ago, so this technology must have improved since I looked at it last, but I still see some holes.

- Can it tell the difference between organic and traditional produce?  Not sure how that could possibly happen based on colour and texture.  Last I checked, there is a serious price delta between those two items – both in cost and price.   This sort of shortcoming is a real problem for North American supermarkets, as this is a potential revenue and margin loss at checkout in a very small margin business.

- Can it still tell the colour and texture through plastic packaging?  In most North American supermarkets, produce is not purchased without some sort of packaging – particularly if more than 1 item is purchased.  Might work, but I would want to see that.

- The spokesman says it will come with a database, but what does this do to store infrastructure?  Does it have to reside on every POS?  Is it large as it has images to compare on it?  How does it get updated after implementation.  Nobody has a complete database of produce, and if they did, it is bound to be large.  No store actually would have all produce meaning the full database would be larger than necessary.  To include only what is on hand in a store would require database management.  Even if the database was comprehensive, new products are always coming on the scene.  As items like the newly released Sumo come on the market, they will have to be carefully added to the database.  How does that happen?  One can’t just type in Sumo – 49 cents per pound with a PLU.  It would need to be a carefully orchestrated update.

- I hate to pick on their ergonomics, as this is obviously a demonstration, but those poor cashiers would eventually hurt themselves bending to pick up produce from a basket to scan and place in another basket.  It makes more sense to slide, or at least have a table at the right height to lift from.  There is also no scale, so pricing would only be per unit and not by the pound.  If this were to be implemented it would need to be part of a scanner -scale solution.

I think it’s a great idea and I would love to see it work, but there are a lot of kinks to be worked out before this thing hits the public – in North America in any case.

Pay with Square – Square recently rebranded their Card Case solution as Pay with Square.  The payment system allows for payment without removing a wallet or phone from the users pocket.  It’s based on geolocation.  Users are identified by the pictures on the point of sale device.  Beyond the rebranding, the app has been redesigned with a more functional interface, and to allow full functionality on both the Android and iPhone versions.  Still waiting for Canada, but expect EMV makes that unlikely.

dining & qsr, food & drug, retail
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2012.10 | Edible Packaging | Dining e-Tickets | OLED Lighting

March 20, 2012 by Tim Dickey 0 Comments

Edible Packaging – While putting tea bags into the green bin is a real step forward from just dumping them into the garbage, we may be able to avoid the waste issue altogether in the future with new dissolvable materials that allow us to consume packaging along with products.

Monosol has designed tasteless water soluble packets of hot chocolate, fruit drink and oatmeal. They look exactly like the familiar plastic packets we know today. Drop one of these packets of product in water, wait for it to dissolve and consume. With this technology one could avoid the waste and recycle cycle completely.

Another angle on the same idea, Wiki Cells edible membrane uses food particles connected “by electrostatic charges to each other and to a small amount of natural polymer” to put a casing around food. As an example, they have yogurt inside an edible membrane in the manner of a parmesan or goat cheese kind of skin. To consume, one cuts through the skin to access the interior and then one can eat the ‘rind’ or ‘peel’ as well.  If you happen to be in Paris, you could try it out at the Lab Store Paris.

This may take some time to catch on with consumers and get past their health concerns, but could result in real waste savings on many fronts.

Dining e-Tickets – As restaurants work on slim margins rendering no-shows as a big hit to the bottom line, some restaurants are moving away from reservations to e-ticketing schemes. Under this setup, potential diners buy tickets for a time slot at a restaurant – just like a theatre performance. If they don’t show, the restaurant is not out profit for the night as the tickets are non-refundable. Like theatre or sports events, perhaps we can expect potential scalping, online trading systems.  There are also  potentially new revenue streams for operators  like OpenTable.

OLED lighting – Advances in OLED lighting provide some potentially incredible impacts on design of stores and technology in future. Check out the article and incredible video of an Audi concept vehicle to get the full effect.

direct video link

dining & qsr, food & drug, retail
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2012.08 | Interactive Screens – not Kiosks

March 2, 2012 by Tim Dickey 0 Comments

Interactive kiosk solutions have been a part of retail for as long as someone was able to stick a computer in a box.  While mobile is definitely a phenomenon in retail, we are far from saturation on kiosks as self service solutions.   In fact, there has never been a better time to consider a self service kiosk solution – and those solutions don’t have to be limited to a little square screen on a stick.

The technology options available to power these solutions has improved tremendously and there are an increasingly wide range of form factors, as well as peripherals of all sorts to serve pretty much any market or need imaginable.    In fact, I would suggest that the use of the term kiosk is outdated.  It refers to that little square screen on a stick or in a box from a decade ago.

The days of a cobwebbed kiosk in the corner are gone, and new technology means a new generation of interaction in sites.  Consider technology and societal changes that make these new interactions possible:

Larger format screens – 50 and 60″ LCD devices are now available for the cost of a regular old 15″ solution from a number of  years ago.     This reduced cost makes it more affordable to implement a kiosk that has some visual appeal, lots of space for visual elements, and more easily blends into the customer experience in the store than the technology of years gone by. Projection options are also finding their way into the mainstream – meaning a whole new opportunity for engagement and new placements of interactive experiences.

Increased Use of Touch –  - increased availability of touch interfaces means more people are comfortable with them.  If you think back just a few years, there was far less use of touch interfaces.  The release of iDevices, touch on Blackberries and various tablets and eReaders means that a comfort level has grown that was not there before.  This increases the willingness and comfort of the average consumer to interface with a touch system.

Pervasive Technology – There is now a generation of young adults who have never lived without mobile phones or the internet.  Where for many years one saw customers saying they “don’t want to use that thing” or “I want to talk to a person”, there is a whole new generation of shoppers are hungry for different touchpoints and shopping experiences.

What works with interactive kiosk experiences?

With the technology to enable incredible interactive experiences in any place where stores can exist, it is important to consider what experience is being provided.  I have seen a number of interactive experiences requested over the years, and there are a few learnings I can pass on.

1.  Buy-in – If an interactive experience in a retail setting is going to work, then all stakeholders have to be invested in it. If executives, store management or store staff don’t believe in the solution then it will fail.    Any half-hearted solution will not work.  It is like any other group initiative.  Without the conscious involvement, understanding and enthusiasm from the team, whatever solution you have will not work.  It will be doomed from the start.

2. Functionality – The solution has to have a benefit to all who use it.  A benefit for the user, the store staff and the business in general.  For the customer it could be helping them avoid a line, or get help without having to ask a staff member.  For the store staff, it could help them with capacity. For the business, it can keep customers in the store instead of leaving, it could upsell them, it could give them an experience that will keep them as a long term customer.

As an additional detail, my experience has been that transactional systems tend to get more use than informational ones.  Where some customers may be interested in reading product information in great details, there is greater usage and more direct measurable benefit to the business when someone wants to buy something and can do so directly on the solution.

If customers can look at product information, that’s great, but if they can buy the product and have it sent to their home, they don’t need to consider a second interaction.  They can do it on the spot.   Bottom line in my opinion – no ROI – no interactive solution.  If it isn’t driving business, it’s taking up space.  Don’t implement technology for its own sake.

As a personal aside please don’t waste time with the following:

  • e-flyers – I’d like someone to show me how this pays off.  Why would I scroll through an e-flyer at a screen in a store?  I will do it at home, but that is a different user experience.  It is always faster to scan through a paper one in a store, users have no audience waiting to use the unit, and often the paper flyers are sitting in a giant pile right next to the screen.
  • games – I’ve never understood why I would want to play a game on a screen in a store or how that would benefit a retailer. I’m also annoying others who may want to use the screen to find a product.  Exception – if it’s a contest where I get a discount and it’s quick.
  • in store wayfinding – Nobody trusts these in stores anymore.  In a small store there is no need for them.  In a large store who keeps this updated?  Stores change around so much, and I doubt that planograms are updated and automatically interfaced.  It can also take longer to scroll through than just walk through the store.  Exception 1 – if there is an automated interface to constantly updated planogram system. Exception 2 – if there is a version that works with your mobile device Meijer Findit – maybe.  Just put stuff where we can find it.

Based on what I’ve seen, these items are add-ons designed to flesh out a solution, but it never feels useful or natural to me, and drives out more value more than it adds.

3.  User Experience – If the customer doesn’t at least find the experience useful, they won’t use the screen again.  I’m not a UI designer myself, but self service best practices should be followed that suit the application, and having an experienced consultant design your interface is well worth the investment.

Examples of best practices include using as few screens as possible to get a user to completion of their task, using buttons and text that are easy to see and read, and minimize and simplify data entry unless absolutely necessary – especially duplicate requests.  Providing a simple and convenient experience will draw them in and bring them back.

4.  Ongoing Support – If the solution isn’t working, it’s not getting used.  If it’s not getting used, the benefits above are not being realized.  If people see it not getting used, it will be used even less until it is completely ignored, negating the initial intention of having the solution at all.  Ongoing support means making sure the hardware is working to it’s full potential.  No failed peripherals, or a paper sign tacked on it saying out of order.  That can’t happen.

Just as importantly, content must be accurate and updated where relevant.  If a kiosk never changes, unless it fulfills a very specific and key function it will die.  Retailers would never consider leaving their stores the same through seasons – they are always updated with fresh ideas, programs and products.  Interactive solutions must be part of any store updates – the graphics, the videos, the interactions must all keep pace.  People are always engaged with new content – we all know this.  Make sure the solutions are constantly updated to pull people in.

This is a key element that gets missed.  Project teams move to the next new thing, funding is pulled to other new projects, and solutions die.  Don’t let that happen.

5.  One Brand Experience - Retailers understand that providing a seamless single experience to retailers across all parts of the business makes it easier for consumers to buy, which means more sales.  Now that barriers are being removed web stores and brick and mortar stores, allowing returns across the banner, for example, customers are expecting this barrier removal to continue across all interface points.  As each channel becomes easier to use, customers are likely to try out the new ones.  If a customer considers an interactive screen in a shopping centre to be a window into their brand experience, they are increasingly likely to use it.  It’s no longer a separate thing – using this interactive solution should be part a consistent brand  experience.  Try as much as possible to make that experience consistent and targeted to those consumers as much as possible.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but these are key elements to making a solution really and truly work for the customers and the retailer.

Where is this going?

There is no way to know where the future takes us, but here are a few of my thoughts on the future of interactive screens – hitherto known as kiosks:

Every screen is interactive – and it should be.  Currently there is lots of digital signage out there, but the communication is only one way.  It is showing you messages and is not open for input.  The millennial cohort and younger generations are growing up with interactive screens.  Not having input doesn’t make sense to them.  Expect walls of digital posters in stores to be enabled for interactivity in the future.  During the slow hours of the day, they show brand and product messaging.  At busy times, they can be used to engage customers on selecting their best mobile plan, finding out their balance, or contacting a service rep.

Every interaction is personal - and it should be.  Future interactions should be filtered to get to the point for specific clients.  Allowing customers to identify themselves via loyalty cards or some other simple format means that the messaging and interactions can be customized.  This can minimize screens and touches and provide a streamlined experience.  It could mean language, recognizing services or products the customer has purchased or identified to provide assistance or upsell on them, offers specific to that customer, or even providing access to profiles so that customers can validate how they want to be dealt with.

Screens can be anywhere on any surface in any place.  Large screens are pervasive, but expect projection and other technologies to start to show up as cost drops and brightness increases.  They can cover large or irregular areas, they can provide big screen surface with a small device, and they provide flexible solution options. Starbucks had a good example of this in Toronto and Vancouver last year.

Screens will interact with each other.  Everyone knows we have screens in our pocket, but some content works better in a larger format.  It is technically possible to leverage both together in a store environment in myriad different ways.  Why not have a pre-ordering menu on a mobile device to stage an order that is passed to an in store device to order?  Why not provide a message that an order is ready to a mobile device while customers wait in the store?  Why not enable selection of items for purchase of out of stock items instore from the website, and then complete the payment transaction on the small mobile screen for privacy and security?  As the general public matures technically and they see benefits, these interactions will catch on.

Once again, I think the time has passed to call these interactive kiosks.  Mobile is huge for reatil. Tablets are huge for retail as well, and some think these persona devices signal the end of kiosks, but interactive screens in stores, shopping centres, or wherever you wish already are and will continue to play a tremendous role in the retail ecosystem.

dining & qsr, food & drug, general merchandise, retail, social networking
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2012.07 | Carts, Pinterest & Registries

February 29, 2012 by Tim Dickey 0 Comments

Kinect Shopping Carts – Check out this concept where your shopping cart can follow you around or lead you through a store to products via it’s Kinect Interface.  This goes into the “intriguing but probably a ways off” folder – like Google’s self driving cars.

It is a tremendous idea, but will take some time to work out the kinks in a busy store full of customers.  Also remember the usual questions around ROI.  Much as we all want magic shopping carts, and as much as technology is getting cheaper, will this technology double shoppers’ basket sizes?  Will it save on labour?  Can this thing keep up with people in the real world?  How much more will a shopping cart like this cost to buy and maintain?  How will they stand up to the beating they will take from the public?  I’ve seen a lot of tablets mounted to shopping carts in my time in one way or another, and much as I like the idea, it’s a tough solution on which to show a return.

I want my jet pack too, but I’m not sure if we’ll get it any time soon.  The media loves stories like this – with Jetson’s-like futuristic devices.  The public and store staff who have to deal with stuff like this in real life are generally less enthusiastic.   I hope it happens, but I’m skeptical.

Pinterest – Because we all need another social network to fill our hours of downtime, Pinterest is the latest to catch the imagination of the Internet and the media.  Basically it’s a bulletin board where anyone can pin any image that happens to catch their fancy – generally some object of shopping desire.  Others can jump in and like another user’s item, and that item shows who likes it.  Users can follow each others with similar tastes – like Facebook.

I personally don’t enjoy the social aspect of this as much as others seem to do.  Items that I want to remember to purchase later can go in my evernote or favorite on twitter via flipboard.  They also don’t have an iPad app, which seems a bit of an oversight that I’m sure will be corrected.  Either way, I don’t really browse the web as much on my desktop as I used to do, and I’m not adding another bookmarklet.  I’m bookmarkleted out with instapaper, delicious, and evernote already.   All that said, savvy retailers still need to be present and get their stuff out there for the masses who do love this thing.

Gift Registries – Long the purvey of chain retailers, gift registries are going rogue.  A recent Globe and Mail article outlined the changing demographic of those getting married, and how services like The Gift Network are springing up outside of retailers to fill the gap left by traditional registries.

What this article highlights is that the broad availability and relatively low cost of technology can enable solutions to compete with traditional ones that would not have existed in other times.  In the past, the gift registries were owned by the retailers – there wasn’t much choice available.  Now there is technology that reaches into every home to every friend, grandmother and child.  That kind of reach means that not all of the great ideas have to come from the retailers for a gift registry.   It does mean that retailers should find some way to accommodate potentially unrecognized needs from their shoppers, and perhaps shake things up in their own way to.  Expect more and more of these sorts of services to come into the mainstream.

food & drug, general merchandise, retail, social networking
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2012.07 | Mobile Payments in Canada

February 20, 2012 by Tim Dickey 3 Comments

A few options for mobile payments that have come to my attention as of late:

Verifone Payware – Verifone will soon be releasing a pinpad solution for iPhones in Canada that allows for EMV (also known as chip and pin) enabled payment acceptance.  A peripheral attached to the iPhone allows for the card to be inserted and a pin entered on the back of the peripheral.  This effectively provides a completely portable wireless (via wifi or cellular data) payment unit to business owners in Canada.  While not necessarily a device that larger retailers will want to use initially, it certainly lays the groundwork for change to the current industry model where countertop devices are connected via internet or a phone line and enables a whole range of small business owners to take payments wherever they do business with a device they already have on hand.

It’s the right move by Verifone – effectively giving the masses what they want.  I have had the question from numerous non-traditional small business owners of how they can accept electronic payments, and this is one potential answer.

I think it’s a great idea, but see challenges for retailers who already have issues with security.  There is also the challenge of charging – hopefully these devices have a USB pass-through charging cable that avoids the challenge of a small retailer forgetting to charge their iPhone.  No matter the challenges, this is a solution that needs to be there.   The use cases and issues will be worked out over time.

Interac e-Transfer - While most Canadians aren’t aware of it, Interac has been providing financial institutions the opportunity to enable Interac e-Transfer – effectively a slightly updated debit transaction – for some time.  It allows for individuals to transfer funds to other individuals without knowing their bank account information – the key barrier for most people transferring funds from person to person.  I’ve used this solution a few times via my bank both on my PC and on my mobile.

Users establish a payee on a list and set up a personal question that they have to answer.  An email or text message with a link is sent to the payee.  The payees then follow the link to enter their banking information and complete the transfer.  While this is a fully functional and usable system, it is not terribly convenient using my present service provider.  Payees for my bank have to be established on a PC and not on the mobile device – though once they are established, they can be selected form a list.  If it is not possible to establish a user on a mobile, few people will go for it.  Why not allow users to pick from the address book?  Probably fear of security holes.  Looks the Barclays in the UK is trying the same with Pingit, and I’m sure there are other offerings I have not heard about.

Google Wallet - Google Wallet continues to stumble along.  You can only get it in the US on a Nexus S through a single carrier, and now there are concerns two different hacking issues.  Yikes.  Wonder why it might be delayed in Canada?  Here’s hoping it gets flushed out, though I continue to wonder if NFC may not be doomed from a business perspective.  It’s fine technology, but there are always too many players who want their slice of the pie, or want to keep others out when payments come into the picture.

The End of Money – On the subject of electronic payments, I recently listened to a podcast with David Wolman, author of the newly released book “The End of Money“.  As a proponent of  a cashless society, I was intrigued by his discussion of the hidden costs of currency – costs of which I’m very much aware – and have picked up the book.  I’m looking forward to reading it, and you may want to pick up a copy as well.

dining & qsr, food & drug, general merchandise, retail
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2012.03 | NRF – AR – Payments & more

January 22, 2012 by Tim Dickey 0 Comments

Stories of note from January:

NRF Big Show 2012 – As mentioned, I was at the NRF show this week.  Check out this video covering the underlying themes seen on the floor:  mobile,  consumer experience, convergence of channels, and inventory visibility.

Dominos Augmented Reality  - Dominos is using Augmented Reality to sell pizza in the UK.  Using the blippar app, users point their mobile’s camera at a billboard to see an overlay on their screen that they can touch for offers and ordering.

Microsoft Electronic Mirror – At CES this year, Microsoft was showing their version of a technology enhanced mirror concept.  I’ve seen a few of these so far, and perhaps they are a bit ahead of their time.  The Microsoft Kinect sure has some interesting possibilities for retail – particularly given it now has an official SDK - and eventually someone will work out a use case it in a retail setting that will add value to the customer experience.

Publix Cancels Curbside Pickup - US grocer Publix piloted a program for a year where customers can order groceries online and then have them brought to the car upon arrival to the store.   The program has been cancelled.  It’s an interesting idea, but I expect it is much simpler logistically to have customers come into the store to pick up their order or to have orders delivered to their home directly.

Intuit launching iPhone Payments in Canada – Staying ahead of Square, Intuit is expected to launch their GoPayment solution in Canada in the near future.  I’ve had requests from friends and clients about an equivalent to Square in Canada, so expect they will have some takers.  I will be most interested to see how they deal with EMV.  Both the Intuit and Square solution include card swiping modules that connect to the iPhone or iPad.  Those devices work fine with decades old MSR technology, but what about EMV and the requirement for reading chips from cards, and allowing entry of PINs- a requirement in Canada?

dining & qsr, food & drug, general merchandise, retail
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