The Future is Now: Store Equipment & Technology Revolutionize Retailing


The Future is Now:
Store Equipment & Technology Revolutionize Retailing
By Tanya Kenevich

Technology is no longer an idea of the future. Consumers today can go to any store, check out items, pay for their goods and bag it all up, without even talking to a single sales associate (or human being, for that matter). This seemed like a dream years ago, but the reality has finally sunk in: we must put our human pride aside, say "domo arigato" to Mr. Roboto, and admit that technology in health food stores is revolutionizing the way retailers do business in today's market.

Automatic Instead of Manual
An informal survey done by the New York Times found that Whole Foods' New York City locations have excelled at finding new ways to reduce the customer's wait in line -- a move that easily inspires repeat shopping. Additionally, to ensure that customers remain well-informed about when the next register will become available, in some cases, color-coded digital screens relay the information. This one case could easily be the spark that lights the match in providing more retail automation and faster checkouts, to ensure happier customers.

"Automation is not just important, it's essential to long-term survival and growth in today's mulit-channel marketplace," said Rob Coon, president of Dydacomp (Totowa, NJ). "While any size merchant should consider an investment in business process automation as early as possible, the need for streamlining an operation through such a solution becomes imperative once critical business tasks begin to interfere with the company's ability to serve the customer promptly, accurately, and efficiently."

Coon also believes that consumers want quick and fast service, without snags and poor attitudes. "Today's customers are more demanding than ever and expect up-to-the-minute answers," added Coon. "Only a tightly integrated solution can deliver that time sensitive information to your customers whether they are looking for details online, through a phone-based correspondence with a customer service representative (CSR) or in person at your point of sale (POS) kiosk."

To stay on top of the growing popularity of internet shopping, Dydacomp has released Mail Order Manager (M.O.M.) Version 6.0 the newest edition of the leading multi-channel order management system. It provides e-commerce integration options for many popular websites, like Amazon®, eBay®, and more. This competition can provide a tough spot for brick and mortar retailers who have not integrated more technical equipment into their stores.

"As shoppers become more and more familiar with the convenience of shopping online, they are less tolerant of things like long lines, untrained employees, lack of product information and an inability to compare prices," said Jeff Seacrist, vice president of marketing at Healthnotes, Inc. (Portland, OR). "Today many consumers research products and purchases online, and then purchase in traditional channels, but it's imperative for retailers to begin to offer more automation and more services to shoppers to prevent those purchases from moving completely online."

"Five years ago, a small store couldn't dream of purchasing a POS for business intelligence. Today these are available in various levels of sophistication and at a fraction of the cost," said Jim Sheehan, business to business product manager and co-founder of Living Naturally, LLC (Venice, FL). Living Naturally recently reintroduced Scan Genius, which has an extensive industry product database. The Scan Genius also has an electronic ordering system that gives ordering options, sale items, ordering history and even sets up your store shelf tags, which help in accurate scanning.

"For the independent natural products retailer to stay competitive, they must embrace the technologies that will simplify their business and increase their profits," added Sheehan.

Technology for Store Functions
Technology is being incorporated in almost every store function imaginable, from ordering and receiving, inventory and checking, to almost every retailer in the natural products market having their own website (some of which can even be used for purchasing items).

OrderDog (Lewisville, TX) updates over 180,000 products a day for retailers and their stores. The company recommends using their iPocket scanner along with the OrderDog Basic Package, which can reduce time spent ordering by as much as 85 percent, the company states.

Coon added that automation software helps in "providing retailers both speed and accuracy" and "not only saves man hours, but ensures that inventory availability is current across all channels, back orders are filled promptly, and accounts are reconciled appropriately."

Using Dydacomp's SiteLINK, its e-commerce platform designed exclusively for users of the M.O.M. order management and processing systems, they have had success with not only integrating technology into stores, but keeping it updated and useable in the growing, modern day market. Although 97percent of natural products shoppers access the internet daily, according to Lisa Peifer, marketing manager of Living Naturally, a store website is not a substitute for the actual store.

"While the internet has replaced a score of communication mediums, it's not yet an alternative to brick and mortar retail locations. A misconception I often come across is that a website needs to have an online shopping cart in order to be worthwhile, when really more than one third of all people who go online do so to seek medical and health information, not to make purchases," said Peifer. "The majority of consumers still want the in-store experience."

"A website is bordering on being just as important as having a cash register. There are myriad low cost, convenient online options available," Seacrist added. "More shoppers than ever are using them. Retailers can benefit from online [as an] expanded reach. But just as importantly, the web can be a way to foster an ongoing relationship with the shopper."

Healthnotes has incorporated a visit to the health store with a comprehensive tool to answer any questioning customer. The Healthnotes Connect, a marketing and merchandising program, is accessed through a touch screen attached to a kiosk. This enables inquiring customers to use retail websites for information on products, promotions and employee effectiveness. According to Healthnotes information, over 75 percent of shoppers who use the Healthnotes kiosks find the information useful and over 40 percent of consumers who use the Healthnotes Connect make a purchase on one of the kiosks.

Automatic Organics
Technology for store equipment is important, but does it translate in sales for the organics industry?

"Generally, consumers respond very favorably to being given more options and venues to purchase precisely what they need or want," said Coon. "Access to a broader catalog also helps ensure that a merchant doesn't lose a sale because the specific product is not on the shelf but is, in fact, available. This is just one more way to make sure the customer's needs are met."

"In my experience, in-store electronic catalog systems have been very well received by supplement buyers," said Sheehan. "The buyers are happy to have so much more information at their fingertips, like ingredients and what is on special. This trickles down to the organic shopper because the buyer has more time to spend with them -- they're at the shelf and can actually stop mid-order if necessary and pick it up again when the shopper has been satisfied."

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