Tag Archives: 2d

2011.13 | Mobile 2D Code Scanning

April 1, 2011 by Tim Dickey 4 Comments

2D barcodes continue to enter the mainstream in North America after a much slower start than Asia and Europe.  Recent improvements in processor speed, camera availability, and software on a wide variety of smartphones means that a great swath of the population now has the capability to very easily read and use these codes.   Home Depot recently announced a wide deployment of QR codes in their stores.

2D barcodes – also known as QR (Quick Response) barcodes – come in various flavours and formats, but appear the same and are used in the same way.  Whereas the linear barcodes from stores we all know so well are composed of a series of vertical bars of black and white, 2D barcodes are generally a square with a series of squares of black and white (there are other options, however).   While traditional barcodes were scanned with a laser based barcode scanner, 2d barcodes are read with an imager – a camera.  While we discussed reading these 2D barcodes from mobile phones with a traditional POS setup in earlier posts, reading 2D barcodes with a mobile device is also an interesting prospect for retailers and other consumer facing organizations.

In order for a consumer to read these barcodes, a mobile device and software are required.  Mobile phone users can download ScanLife, NeoReader, and Microsoft Tag Reader to read these codes.  All three of them come in versions for most major mobile phone platforms including iPhone, Windows Phone, Android, Blackberry, Symbian and more.  Scanlife even offers feature phone users the capability for users to capture a code with a camera, send via MMS and receive the data link without the use of an app.  Microsoft’s app reads their own proprietary tags.

2D barcodes are appearing for consumer reading on billboards, on products, on posters, on magazine ads, in newspapers and on price tags.  They allow companies to share information such as images, demos and more via the web with consumers, and track that information as well.  The tags are also being used for reading from the phone as coupons, tickets, and payments.  Check out many real world implementations at Roger’s Blog of 2D Barcode Strategy.  I’ve seen them more and more – I have recently seen them on a poster at AMC Theatres as a link to Facebook, on a Black Eyed Peas Concert Poster, on the side of a truck advertising a business, at Pearson Airport in Toronto advertising the newly opening iStore Boutique, and many more.

While Google are attempting to usurp their place with NFC tags, it seems likely that both NFC and 2D will exist together, particularly given that NFC phones are not yet mainstream, and 2D barcodes can be shown on screens or printed with any printer, while special NFC tags carry a higher cost and are not as simply or as widely available as of yet.

dining & qsr, food & drug, general merchandise, retail
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2011.04 | NFC Mobile Payments

January 31, 2011 by Tim Dickey 2 Comments

Image Source - Cult of Mac

The previous blog post on Starbucks 2D Barcode Mobile Payments drew questions from readers and colleagues around Near Field Communication (NFC) payments, specifically, why would Starbucks have implemented a 2d Mobile Payment solution when NFC is just around the corner?

The Starbucks solution with 2D payments is a perfect fit for the unique Starbucks situation and does not preclude them from accepting mobile NFC payments.  However, the 2d barcode payment is not one I would recommend for any other retailer unless they were have the same characteristics as Starbucks and their solution outlined in the previous post, and there are few if any retailers or consumer facing organizations in that position.

In order to provide NFC mobile payments, it is necessary to have the following elements: NFC at Point of Service, NFC enabled mobile devices, and most difficult of all, Credit Card Company and Credit Processor cooperation.

Point of Service Interface – Retailers that wish to accept mobile NFC payments require NFC enabled pinpads that already work with NFC credit cards.  The most common units in place so far in Canada are the Verifone vx810 and Ingenico i3070c.  These pinpads would provide the interface in stores for NFC ready mobile devices, and are, in fact, already widely installed by many tier 1 Canadian retailers as part of recent EMV efforts.

NFC Mobile Devices – According to rumour, both RIM (Dakota) and Apple (iPhone 5, iPad 2) have NFC ready devices coming out in 2011.  If that is the case, then we may indeed finally be looking at the long awaited electronic wallet, as we now have an encrypted and relatively secure electronic interface from mobile device to point of service device.   Apple and RIM’s massive base and marketing power, as well as their ongoing competition, certainly has the potential to drive massive traffic.  So the mobile devices might be coming, but this has been the expected for at least 4 years.  We’ll call mobile NFC devices a strong maybe.

Credit Card Company / Processor Cooperation – My thoughts on contactless payments are well documented on the blog under NFC if you want to pick it from the tag cloud. The problem isn’t the technology, it’s how the payments get processed and who gets paid to do it. See my posts here and here, as well as a recent article published on StoreFront Backtalk.  The credit card companies, and the various payment processors already get their slice of the payments pie, while all of the mobile carriers have been trying to figure a way to get theirs for years now. Both Canada (Enstream) and US (Isis) mobile carriers have established collective organizations to deliver on mobile payments.  It isn’t that all of these organizations don’t want mobile payments, it’s just very difficult to sort out, and there is really no extra potential revenue in it for them unless consumers or retailers will pay more for some reason.  Some may point to startups like Square and Twitpay, and they may take a bite out of mobile payment in the future, but it doesn’t look like it will happen in the immediate future.  Getting these organizations on board, extending a very successful and secure closed network to the uncertain security of millions of devices is a long short in the near future.

NFC mobile wallets can and should happen (you can already stick an NFC tag on your phone if you like), but sorting out who gets paid how, and how funds will stream through a secure system will take some time.  Nobody knows when that will be.

Why did Starbucks implement a 2d Barcode Payment System instead of NFC?  Only they can answer that, and much of it may be marketing, but in the end, they can drive an ROI.  With a 2D system implemented TODAY, Starbucks potentially gets more consumer card usage, drive more ‘deposits’ on their stored value card, and a quick tender.  Consumers get the convenience of paying with their phone, and the kind of bleeding edge fun many Starbucks customers enjoy.

Starbucks avoids the complex mess of processors, EMV, PCI, and dealing with the processors and credit card companies altogether by taking no the risk themselves.  They have made a good gamble on the fact that they can attract early adopters with relatively very little investment, and by the time mobile payments are mainstream, their system will have already provided a good ROI.

dining & qsr, food & drug, general merchandise, retail
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2011.03 | Why Starbucks’ Mobile Payment System Works

January 24, 2011 by Tim Dickey 21 Comments

Last week Starbucks announced that the mobile payment scheme it has been piloting for some time will be available for all 6,800 Starbucks stores and Target locations across the US.  The solution is not yet in place in Canada.

For the uninitiated, the solution works as follows.  Consumers download the Starbucks Card Mobile App to their mobile phone; be it iPhone or BlackBerry. Customers with a Starbucks stored value card (effectively a gift card) that is registered on the Starbucks website, enter the card number into their phone when the obtain the app, and that card number is stored.  When consumers visit a store, they place their coffee order as usual, and indicate their desire to tender with their mobile.  Consumers start the Starbucks Card Mobile App on their mobile and navigate to the payment screen so that a 2d barcode representing the consumers’ Starbucks card is displayed.  The Starbucks associate, selects mobile as the tender in the POS, and prompts the consumer to use the customer facing imager (the same as those used in airports to read boarding passes).  The consumer places their mobile device under the imager, the 2d barcode is read, and the POS treats the tender like a gift card, following the usual payment verification procedure.  Once tender is complete, the customer obtains their coffee as usual.

The discussion on electronic wallet is an industry favourite, and this development will certainly encourage more discussion on the subject and provide some much need experience.  I’m fully behind this initiative, but at present, this solution is very much a Starbucks specific solution, and it is not easily translatable to other retailers.  While retailers can learn a great deal from the obvious careful thought that has gone into the solution, and we can look forward to others moving down this road as well.  To clarify for consumers (and non-technical retail executives) who ask why other retailers don’t have mobile payment schemes as yet, consider the following unique characteristics of the Starbucks situation that make a solution like this pay off.

Use of Stored Value Card - Very few retailers have a stored value card with the massive following and ongoing usage that Starbucks have.  Effectively consumers are giving Starbucks their funds in advance in exchange for some very small benefits (free drink on your birthday, free pump of flavouring in your drink).  Starbucks gets loyalty data on customers, and a nice balance of cash on hand.  More relevant to the mobile payment solution, the Starbucks mobile phone application allows consumers to make a payment onto their stored value card, and the application’s 2d barcode payment system is connected to that card.  Connecting the mobile payment system to the stored value card means that Starbucks can take the risk of a payment system internally.  Stored value are not subject to the same roadblocks, legislation, and scrutiny that building a mobile payment system that would access a credit card or a debit card would have.  Using the stored value card simplifies implementation and sidesteps many complexities of payment systems like EMV and PCI.

Cross Platform - While Starbucks are very keen on the iPhone, they have not limited themselves to an iPhone app, but also provided an app for the other key smart phone users via the Blackberry App.  Considering the corporate core of Blackberry users and how often meetings now take place in Starbucks stores, this is a wise move to maximize potential users.  Given the number of Android Users and the recent release and growing use of Windows 7 Phone platforms, it would not be surprising to see the Starbucks Card App ported to those platforms as well, ensuring maximum potential usage.

Valuable App - With over 400,000 apps on iTunes, retailers need to make their app unique and useful.  Ideally it pulls together the mobile and in store experience in some way.  Starbucks has managed both.  Any successful retailer’s mobile app needs something unique to it to encourage download, and having it on a consumers screen on a permanent basis.

Customer Demographic – Based on my experience, and what I have read in the media over the past few years, the average Starbucks consumer is more likely than average to be a tech-savvy iPhone or Blackberry user, and beyond that, the kind of user who would be comfortable with technology and placing a payment with their mobile.  It is important that any solution put in front of a consumer by a retailer fit their target market.  A savvy comfortable customer is more likely to use the app, and use it well, to speed transactions and drive convenience for them, and speed throughput for the retailer.

Infrastructure – Most Starbucks locations have 2 terminals.  In order to leverage 2d barcodes, special imagers are required, and this means hardware investment.  2 lanes means only a $300-$400 investment per store for imaging hardware.  Considering the potential value of transactions per store, this is a very low cost.   The ROI would be far less attractive for a lower margin retailer with dozens of lanes in a store to deploy, as it would be key to have the imagers in every lane to simplify the process for consumers.

Transaction Type - The slowest portion of any retail transaction, and the most difficult to trim time from, is the tendering process.  Given that in Starbucks transactions generally include a small basket size and the ordering time is relatively short, the value of an alternative payment is increased, as it is a greater proportion of the transaction.   This value is increased further by the incredible traffic at Starbucks sites.  Having many small transactions provides a boost to the ROI of the solution.

No Mobile Device Handling - In order for any sort of mobile payment solution to increase throughput and minimize operational complications, it is key to streamline the process of scanning the mobile device.  Starbucks has done this via a customer facing scanner with very simple signage.  This allows the consumer to place their phone in the scanning area with no need to pass the mobile device to a cashier.  This simplifies the process by providing a consistent process, not only increasing the scan speed, but also avoiding the potential of store staff dropping or otherwise damaging a customer’s mobile device.  Consumers are also more likely to use the mobile payment solution if they do not have to pass their mobile phone to a cashier, given how consumers increasingly consider the mobile device as a personal item.

As with all solutions implemented by consumer facing organizations, ROI is key.  Looking at the Starbucks solution, the costs of entry are probably not that high.  A mobile app is relatively inexpensive and standalone compared to other point of sale solution implementations.  Using the stored value card leverages electronic processes and databases already in place.  The crucial part is operationalizing the solution, and that can be put in place for hundreds or low thousands per site.  All in all, this is a relatively low cost solution with the potential for a high ROI in both funds, and in good will from consumers.  Other retailers looking to implement such a solution would do well to observe what Starbucks have done, but note well that this is not a one size fits all solution.  Any future implementers should be sure that the app suits their customer demographic, their transaction model, and has a way of dealing with the complexities of payment.  Other solutions will arise, and it will be fascinating to see what comes next.

dining & qsr, retail
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2010.46 | 2D Barcodes are for Everybody Now

November 15, 2010 by Tim Dickey 1 Comment

Seems like 2D Barcodes are picking up steam – at least from the perspective of the media.  Though these codes have been around for some time – originally used for labelling electronic components, they are finally making their way a little deeper into the mainstream.   2D has been discussed on this blog many times over the past 2 years.

Smartphones have made this possible with better faster hardware and software that allows users to scan codes very quickly – making the use of these codes far more practical than in the past. The value of 2D codes are their ability to provide a very simple bridge between mobile and touchpoints (point of sale, atm, payment terminals). While it’s possible to interface via NFC, bluetooth or wifi, all of the other options require setup, passwords or some other hardware. With 2D barcodes – there’s an app for that, and it’s basically point and shoot.

Some interesting uses of 2D barcodes in retail:

Ticketing - Expect to see more of this as consumers become more comfortable.  It already works for airlines, and given the demographic visiting movie theatres, who are more comfortable with mobile technology will move to this ticketing option in the future with movie theatres (Full Disclosure – NCR is my employer and owns Mobiqa) and concert venues leading the way.

Coupons – Coupons are common in today’s value consious consumer.  There are a number of initiatives taking place that use 2d barcodes.

Payment - Starbucks has been connecting a client’s stored value card to a 2D barcode that can be read at the POS for some time.  That’s old hat, though still uncommon.  A newer twist on this is a company called Cimbal, who are attempting to enable the mobile wallet via 2D barcodes.  This system shows a 2D barcode on the screen of the pinpad to be scanned by a mobile phone and then payments are directed.  This is a very interesting angle to avoiding a new device at the point of sale.

Informational - Scanning 2d barcodes from store shelves or posters is increasingly simple with all of these applications and can take the load off store staff for information.  Customers can scan a code from a poster or from a shelf edge to watch a video or a sales pitch of any media that vendors may want to provide to retailers.



Again, 2D barcodes are not new, nor is scanning a barcode to pull information.  It is the new comfort level with mobile technology that is pulling this technology to the fore.

dining & qsr, food & drug, general merchandise, retail
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2010.44 | Using the Consumer’s Device

October 29, 2010 by Tim Dickey 0 Comments

As the dynamic for retailers shifts from a B2C model (where where the business dictates how consumers will interface to a retailer) to a C2B model (where consumers can use any number of platforms do business with a retailer), there are some very interesting technology applications coming to the fore that attempt to take advantage of the changes. 

This video from the shop.org annual summit highlights this vision of the future for retailing with every potential touchpoint as an opportunity to sell.

Some examples of retailers leveraging :

Starbucks Wifi Portal - When you login to the free wifi at Starbucks in the US, the new Starbucks Digital Network is rolling out that provides users access to specially selected content, including six channels around News, Entertainment, Wellness, Business and Careers, My Neighbourhood, and Starbucks.  Understanding that half of their customers are using mobile devices in the store, Starbucks are optimizing this experience for those users.  Starbucks provides another reason to visit their sites, while providing other potential revenue opportunities through media sales/fees/commissions.  This seems like a real win for everyone – consumers, content providers and Starbucks. 

Concierge Service in Apple Stores - Apple appears to be upgrading their Genius bar system whereby customers arriving at Apple Stores can register, be placed in a queue for assistance, and even see the name and a picture of  their Genius.  Given the increasingly crowded and crazy environment at an Apple store, this is a great use of a device the client is likely to own, while providing a valuable service and re-inforcing the Apple brand.

Store Scanning - Unlike my previous post where retailers are scanning mobile devices, there are a wide array of solutions for consumers to use their mobiles to scan items in stores.  Two particular interesting examples are the upgrade to the Tesco iPhone app that allows for barcode reading capability to add to orders, and Aislebuyer, a standalone system that lets customers scan in stores and check out on their own.

iPad Apps – Companies like Gap, Victoria’s Secret, Amazon Windowshop, and more are releasing iPad apps that provide a unique interaction point that is special to their brand, provides an interface that the customer is asking for, and leverages a consumer device as opposed to having to invest in their own networks.

Mobile Payment and Couponing - Starbucks has been accepting mobile payments through their mobile apps and a 2d barcode scanner since late last year, but are now rolling it out in New York – where solutions like this can start to enter the mainstream.  Target has been doing the same with coupons since the spring.  People notice that they lose their wallet after a day – their mobile phone they notice missing in an hour.  What’s more important?  These organizations are leveraging an area of demand, and smartly sidestepping all of the logistical nightmares of mobile phone payments to give themselves an early adopter advantage.

All of these examples are clever efforts to turn the C2B model to a business advantage for these organizations, and a glimpse into how Consumers will interact with retailers in the future – wherever they want – but more so.


dining & qsr, food & drug, general merchandise, retail
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2010.42 | Scanning Barcodes From a Mobile Screen

October 14, 2010 by Tim Dickey 2 Comments

Misconceptions abound about scanning the screens of mobile devices.

There are a number of different ways of passing data from a mobile device to another platform in a store environment – 2D barcodes, Microsoft Tag, NFC, Bluetooth, and via Apps – the possiblities are quite broad and are dependent on the application.

Applications in a store environment most often involve passing loyalty or coupon information from a mobile device to a point of sale (POS).  The method that arises most in conversation is that which would seem most intuitive to the general population.  Can one scan a barcode from the screen of a mobile phone with a scanner at the point of sale?

The answer: it depends.  Consider the following examples:

Example 1: A customer approaches a Point of Sale in a store with an Apple iPhone.  The customer has scanned an image of their loyalty card into their phone complete with a traditional linear barcode from the back of the physical loyalty card.  The cashier has a Handheld Scanner at the POS and attempts to scan the customer’s screen to enter their loyalty information into the system…  It won’t work.   A traditional handheld or even bioptic scanner will not reliably capture a barcode from the screen of a regular mobile device’s screen.   I have personally attempted it many times, in many retail situations with various scanners and mobile devices and screens in stores and in lab environments.  The screen is too reflective or does not pick up the contrast in the bars and spaces, no matter how large or bright the image may be.  (It may give a positive scan once in a while, but not consistently.) I’ve heard that some iPhone apps get around that by showing the images in certain ways, but I’ve never seen it work live or via any online searching.


Example 2: A customer approaches the boarding gate at an airline terminal with a Blackberry Torch.  The customer has downloaded an electronic boarding pass to their phone complete with a 2d barcode.  The boarding agent has a Handheld Scanner with a 2d Imager built into it.  The customer holds out their device, and the agent scans it with the imager.  It will work.   In this instance, though the situation appears exactly the same as the first example, the big difference is the the use of the 2d Imager and 2d barcode.  A 2d Imager is essentially a camera – better suited to identifying the 2d barcode on the mobile device.

 

The implication of the formulas above is that the great majority of technology in place at current points of sale will not read barcodes from a mobile device.  Most retailers wishing to take advantage of barcode reading from mobile devices will need to invest in new scanning devices.

dining & qsr, food & drug, general merchandise, retail
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2010.14 | Connecting Virtual Stores with Bricks & Mortar

April 5, 2010 by Tim Dickey 0 Comments

With the three main points of contact for consumers (point of service, web, and mobile) well entrenched, consider some strategies in the news for bringing the three together for a connected and integrated experience.

  • Purchasing with 2d Barcodes through the shop window – A number of companies are making it possible to buy things in the front window even if the store isn’t open – bringing together the virtual with bricks and mortar.  It’s not new, we’ve been reading about it for years, after all, but it’s still not mainstream.    I love it, I’m just not certain how much my non-technical, non-geek peers will embrace it.
  • Paying with Cash Online – The barrier for many consumers who are hold outs for ecommerce is payments.  Some consumers don’t have a credit card, prefer anonymity, or would just rather pay cash.  Kwedit allows customers to use their interface to make a purchase online and pay for it at 7-Elevens across the US.  I don’t know if we have this sort of need in Canada, but if so, it’s a great strategy to tap it!
  • Mobile Payments at Starbucks Expanded – Starbucks released their iphone app a few months back with a pilot 2d barcode payment capability at sites in Seattle and one other city.   It’s now expanded this payment option to Starbucks outlets in Target stores - one of their franchisees in the US.   I look forward to this option in Canada one day.
  • Using Finger Pulse to Dispense Beverages – Moving walletless is a noble pursuit, and this one takes it one step further by removing a mobile device as well.  At Retailtech in Japan, a Coca-Cola machine was rigged up to dispense Cokes based on finger pulse recognition.  While it’s an interesting concept, it doesn’t differ greatly from the now defunct Pay-By-Touch model which was not able to make a go of it.  Registering your finger print (or pulse) is definitely a turnoff for a large segment of the buying public.  Whether it’s concerns over privacy or someone removing others digits for profit, physical validation will be a tough sell when it’s connected to payments.
  • foursquare – I’ve just started experimenting with this social media tool.  The idea is that users can check-in whenever they visit a consumer facing establishment.  Points are given for check-ins as well as badges.  Why would people do this?  It’s a game; a fun competition to get badges and points, and even become the mayor of a given location if you check-in more than anyone else.  It also allows users to provide and read tips on any establishment.  Never underestimate the desire of people to take part in a scavenger hunt like this (listen to this week’s Spark podcast with Jesse Schell if you don’t believe me!).  The exciting part about foursquare should be the ability of retailers to match up with their most loyal clients and make them their best salespeople!
dining & qsr, general merchandise, retail
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2010.02 | Scan those Coupons!

January 8, 2010 by Tim Dickey 0 Comments

Given the Great Recession, one hears a great deal about coupons to encourage shoppers to buy.  Coupons have been around for quite some time, but are still surprisingly low tech in Canada.  While grocer specific coupons and offers are scanned, manufacturer driven coupons are generally accepted as part of a manual process in Canada.   This is an area ripe for automation to the benefit of retailer and consumer alike for the following reasons:

  • Cost Savings - Given that 84% of households in Canada used coupons in 2008 one would expect significant manual effort in gathering the coupons, validating the manufacturer, and tracking down the reimbursements.  With the constant attempt to reduce cost and employee effort, this represents real potential savings to a retailer.  If this effort is not completed, the retailer is providing customers discounts for certain brands out of their own pockets.
  • Throughput - While clerks still need to check expiry dates and validate the product purchased (why isn’t that automated via a central database?) scanning removes the need for at least 5-6 keystrokes per coupon – saving valuable minutes to the checkout process.  More people get through the checkout faster, and fewer people are embarassed by pulling out their coupons or frustrated by those who do so in front of them in the queue.
  • Customer Convenience - Self service solutions like kiosks or self-checkout are rendered less beneficial if coupons require manual entry.  Keying in coupon amounts represents an operation too complex for self service, (not to mention a fraud risk) reducing the amount of customers that will use it.  For those that attempt it without knowing coupons are manual, the transaction will be slowed by attendant intervention and will discourage the use of self service.  This all adds up to customer frustration which can reduce sales.
  • Fraud Reduction – While it is not possible to completely eliminate fraud, the increasing use of GS1 Databar codes may help, and if the codes don’t work on the scanner, it is easier for a clerk to refuse the coupon – minimizing potential losses.
  • Redemption Tracking – Knowing one’s customers becomes increasingly important in competitive times.  Understanding coupon redemption will enhance market basket analysis.  Enabling vendors to get an accurate, timely view of how consumers respond to an offer is extremely valuable, and can also allow for quicker response to coupon problems as data will be available to understand behaviour electronically.

While marketers, vendors and retailers are certainly on top of providing coupons via electronic means – email, web, mobile – there are few to date that are leveraging around electronic coupons: via 2d barcodes, NFC, or redemeed automatically at the checkout via a loyalty card.  While the individual values are small, coupons are important to a value conscious shopper, and the collective impact of coupon automation could be significant, so breaking the code is key.

food & drug, retail
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2009.47 | Paper Free Offers Please

November 19, 2009 by Tim Dickey 0 Comments

Given the state of the global economy, special offers have become the new normal in retail.  Retailers are increasingly able to offer relevant offers on products and services desired by individual consumers.  Consumers who are loyal in these fickle times are rewarded with great deals. 

A technology decision such as requiring a barcoded coupon can have a heavy influence on the closure of a sale.  If a physical coupon is required and forgotten, there can be disasterous concequences.  The consumer may make a special trip to a location, spend sigificant time and energy to fill a basket, and then discover that the offer can not be redeemed. 

The end result is an abandoned basket, at best.  At worst, a customer will feel cheated by the retailer for forgetting a slip of paper.  This sort of small annoyance finds its way to places like Consumerist, or onto Twitter.  While these small annoyances were not worth addressing in the past - with no facility for consumers to vent such a small issue, these items could be ignored.  These new media provide instant response, and the potential for massive backlashes never before possible.

The opportunity to bring a consumer closer to a retailer – to make them more loyal – has been transformed into a pain point for the consumer.  And why the pain point?  Why is it necessary that we all kill trees and feed toner onto paper so that a barcode can be scanned?   The reasons are myriad, and include:

  • Limiting the offer - Perhaps retailers don’t want to provide the offer to the general population, but to a select audience.  Perhaps they are limiting the stock for a BOGO or free item.  While this is sometimes the case, many offers generally encourage you to send them to friends and family and use them over and over again. 
  • Sweethearting – Retailers want to reign in associates who give discounts to people on their whim – they could give it to everyone.  Using a barcode provides an audit trail with the paper coupon and the scanning requirement that will minimize the impact of a dishonest cashier providing discounts to unqualified individuals.
  • Tracking - Any campaign requires measurement, and some campaigns may want to track where the consumer found the offer, so they can understand their multi-channel mix.  There may be different barcodes for e-mail, flyers, newspaper ads, for whatever medium was used to validate the offer source.

There has to be some way to meet these very reasonable retailer needs in some manner without the handicap of a paper coupon – a 19th century innovation.  Unfortunately, barcodes can’t be scanned directly from most mobile devices, so this problem may take some time to be resolved with technology.  While there are some amazing opportunities using 2d barcodes or coupon apps to bridge this divide that are wholeheartedly encouraged, an interim measure that works for all consumers – not just mobile users – is key to avoid the bad press on line that can sink brand capital – particularly in the online world where bad press spreads so quickly.

As always the best route is to make the technology as invisible to the consumer as possible.  Why not make the unique barcode something that can be entered manually if the client reads it off their device to the cashier?  If there are concerns about limiting or sweethearting, why not have a code that the cashiers can enter manually if a customer mentions the offer, and a different code if it is scanned?  If the coupon is fundamentally required, offer a lesser discount without it. 

No matter the answer, it’s important to consider the desired end state, and not get caught in technology for it’s own sake – be it a barcode or a mobile device.  The solution has to be simple for the consumer.

dining & qsr, food & drug, general merchandise, retail, travel
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2009.40 | Service Options

October 1, 2009 by Tim Dickey 0 Comments

Providing a new service option to consumers necessitates giving them an advantage by using it; whether the advantage is convenience, speed of service, access to special percs or many others.  If there is no benefit for the consumer, there is no incentive for them to leverage a different service option.  Any well run consumer facing organization will seek out opportunities to provide customer benefits to differentiate their business and increase the top line, while leveraging cost streamlining benefits to improve their bottom line.
 
Here are a few positive examples observed over the past week:
 
Hertz – I returned my rental car to the Vancouver Airport very early in the morning and had to drop my keys in the slot.  A sign on the box indicated that rental receipts are available for download on their website within hours.  Based on entering a drivers license or credit card number, the Hertz site provides all receipts over the past 6 months, so I was able to pull all I the statements I needed electronically to complete my travel expenses.  Benefit to the consumer?  Instant gratification, a paperless transaction, no agent to call to request the receipt, and increased convenience.  It also takes effort away from Hertz agents, reducing cost, and making staff available to people that require live assistance.  The consumer gets convenience and improved customer service, and the consumer facing organization can leverage cost savings.
 
Starbucks – I have been looking forward to this sort of application as the future of retail for some time, and it appears that the future is almost now!  mFoundry is working with Starbucks on a pilot that will allow mobile based payments via 2d barcodes as well as balance checking and other information for Starbucks card holders.  Once again, consumer and retailer obtain benefits from this solution.  The consumer has potential for a simplified transaction flow, shorter queues, faster service, and a novelty factor that suits a segment of the Starbucks clientele.  Starbucks increases throughput with reduced order and tender time, provides a useful and simple customer service alternative, and aligns themselves more closely with their customers by establishing a hold on one of the most important access points - their customers’ mobile device.
 
5494_128773267062_106593592062_3004057_6437802_nCoca-Cola – I picked up the most recent Fast Company magazine, and read the lead article on Coca-Cola’s David Butler last week. A key component of the article concerns the new Coca-Cola Freestyle soda fountain.   In contrast to traditional self service soda fountains located in Quick Service restaurants, the new footprint boasts a digital LCD interface and technology that shrinks the required raw materials allowing users to access over 100 beverage choices instead of the 6 or 8 generally available today.   The benefit to the consumer in this case is the vastly expanded product selection.  The retailer (and manufacturer) benefit is providing more product selection in the same store footprint, and the capability of leveraging the electronic brain of the soda fountain to ascertain popularity of the beverage options – providing useful and as yet unmined sources of data about consumer preferences in this segment.
dining & qsr, food & drug, retail, travel
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