Retail technology: concepts come to life?
Electronic Shelf Label technology has, for some time, been a concept
that could clearly deliver significant benefits and cost reductions
to retailers but costs have made that investment case just a little
too risky for most. That scenario has begun to change as a number
of retailers have now adopted this technology. As more units are
sold the price per unit will drop and, as that happens, the use
of ESLs will become the standard.
It’s not only the reductions in time and labour that makes
ESLs attractive, but also the added benefits of accuracy, better
promotional flexibility and the opportunity to implement time sensitive
pricing that excites retailers. Any project that saves money and
offers the opportunity to increase margins will attract attention.
So, what is the next big thing in in-store technology? For my money,
self service checkout has got to be high on the list of priorities.
It’s a concept that will appear far off in the distance only
to hit consumers like a freight train. I know there are issues around
theft and dishonesty but they will get ironed out.
Imagine a store with 16 till points, only 6 have cashiers and 10
are self service tunnels. The tunnel is a conveyer belt that has
multi-directional scanners; shoppers simply place the item at one
end and it gets scanned as it moves through to the other end where
it’s collected. Payment is then made by card. Some retailers
may even offer a discount for using the self-service checkout.
The technology is improving all the time, costs are still high but
once European or American retailers adopt the practice those costs
will drop very quickly. It will not be long before South African
retailers begin to pilot the concept, when that happens I have no
doubt that unions and governments will be fighting very hard to
legislate against the practice.
This
editorial is also on our blog.
Craig Ballantyne and Wendy Smith
P.S. Look out for the first Retail Technology Forum in Africa event,
which will be held in Cape Town in September 2011. Find
out more information about it on our website here.
Please feel free to make comments or raise new issues by emailing
the editor
editor@fastmoving.co.za
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Liquor News
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South
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Events
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Driving
Efficiency in Retail
With just under a month to go, the first Retail Technology
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Town) will host the best retail brands in the business alongside
a range of leading local and international suppliers of retail
IT solutions. Spanning the length and breadth of sub-Saharan
Africa, and clocking up nearly 10,000 retail outlets between
them, confirmed retailing groups represent the entire retail
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