More than 27,000 attendees, professionals from 80 countries and 500 providers of technological solutions applied to retail, met one more year at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York from January 13 to 16 for the celebration of the 102nd edition of the Retail’s Big Show.
Four days of conferences, three parallel exhibitions and the delivery of the International Store Design Award , in which for the first time in 42 editions, a Spanish project won an award: the conception and design of Farmacia Santa Cruz, by the agency marketing Marketing-Jazz.
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Omni-channel. The customer at the center
Customer-oriented future in the more than two hundred debates and conferences that took place for four days in a row.
In the sessions and debates, the two most repeated words were Mobility and Omnichannel . Marked by a future that is almost present, in which the digital consumer and their new habits have given way to new needs in which multichannel has ceased to be an isolated event for some leading retailers, to give way to the OmniChannel concept. Or what is the same, today’s retailer must be connected with its consumers through all channels : physical commerce + online commerce + mobile commerce + presence and/or commerce in social networks + presence on the website.
For omnichannel success, retailers must have the same level of service “anytime, anywhere, in all ways” . All the channels interacting forming a set in which the Retailer, the brand, the product or the service is the channel for the needs or desires (even emotional ones) of the consumers.
Groups with common affinities formed by consumers who freely express their opinions on social networks and want to see their need for independence and personalization fulfilled through a brand, a product or a shopping experience.
An exceptional Spanish speaker: Mango and the global strategy
Wal Mart, Starbucks, Whole Food, The Home Depot and up to one hundred executives from as many retail, market research or technology companies debated with the attendees in multi-format sessions about the trends that await the Retail Industry in a global context. and technological in which the changes expected in the next five years will double those that have occurred in the last hundred.
José Gómez, Vice President of Business Development at Mango , was in charge of revealing the keys to the success of the Spanish fashion chain in the new world scenario. The session analyzed how until today the international expansion of retailers has been based on the outsourcing of production to developing countries, known as the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China) and the great power of brands. The current moment indicates that the new path to success requires innovation , in concepts and methods, to adapt to the different expectations of consumers .
Futuristic innovation on display
An almost science fiction world in the building dedicated to the exhibition with futuristic innovation as a spectacle. Leading technology companies were present such as IBM, HP, Intel, Cisco, Wincord Nixdorf, Microsoft, Dell, NCR, 3M Touch, Ingenico, Epson, as well as up to 500, and their solutions, some already implemented in companies such as Grupo Metro, Wal Mart , Tesco, McCormick or Coca Cola to name just a few examples, with direct demonstrations of what state-of-the-art technology is already capable of transforming retail.
Innovations in business management were presented, from elevators for shopping carts suitable for escalators, to modern window dressing systems with digital signage macro screens, to Radio Frequency (RFID) reading solutions or intelligent and mechanical robots capable of performing your route a perfect inventory at the point of sale.
Also shown at the exhibition were the latest developments in mobile payment methods, e-coupons, loyalty, geolocation, inventory management, facial recognition systems, multiscreens, virtual or 3D dressing rooms, and even the still incipient new industry based on nanotechnology, applicable to health, food, textiles or telephony. In this sense, it is worth highlighting the research carried out by Nokia for three years in flexible mobile accessories.
Below, we offer some examples of the most outstanding novelties:
1. Microsoft Dynamics: analytics y multi-canalidad
The experience, tastes and needs of the consumer are at the center of the new version of Microsoft Dynamics for Retail. According to the manufacturer, this version stands out for its omnichannel capacity and being prepared for the next generation of points of sale. The solution offers capabilities to make e-commerce more agile through new search technology, an integrated online storefront and catalog, as well as real-time order management.
Additionally, through Microsoft Dynamics Point of Sale, which is optimized to be touch-enabled from multiple devices, retailers can offer product details and get to know customers better .
The great novelty of the solution is that it offers a single omnichannel commerce engine to manage each and every one of the retailers’ channels. In this way, strategic initiatives aligned with discounts and promotions can be created, so that sellers can take advantage of all market opportunities and reduce complexity and costs.
2. Information Builders: BI solutions for the retail sector
Information Builders attended the fair to promote its BI solutions for the retail sector and show how they can help sellers have a more detailed picture of each of their areas of activity. According to the manufacturer, “thanks to a better integration and analysis of data from different sources, these companies are optimizing their inventories in response to market demand, informing their employees with more accurate information in real time, improving the way of reaching your customers and fueling growth in a more efficient way .”
Advanced mobile BI tools are critical for companies that need to capture highly accurate data from a variety of sources. These types of tools allow retailers to analyze market trends, consumer sentiment, learn about regional differences in product demand, customer purchasing behavior and measure the effectiveness of marketing promotions.
Information Builders also presented some examples of the use of its solutions in some of its clients such as Ace Hardware , a retail cooperative with 4,400 home equipment stores, the restaurant chain Mikesell’s Potato Chip Company or the Dutch retailer Sligro Food Group Nederland , who implemented WebFocus to improve their reporting processes.
3. HP: customer-focused solutions
The American manufacturer took advantage of its visit to the fair to promote its latest equipment for points of sale: the HP RP7, HP RP3 terminals and the HP ElitePad tablet. The latter responds to the growing need to be able to serve customers anywhere at the point of sale . Flexibility and customer service seemed to be the most fashionable concepts at the HP stand.
Also featured in the show were Printables , which enable retailers to send personalized coupons and on-demand content directly to HP printers connected via the Internet.
Not to forget any aspect of customer analytics, HP introduced Autonomy analytics solutions that are designed to understand the return on investment of implemented marketing programs. The novelty of these solutions is that they allow clickstream data to be combined with unstructured information and other data from third parties, in order to discover the interests and preferences of the client.
Finally, HP Media Players , which have been optimized for reliable playback of digital signage. Touch monitors , 15 and 17”, and self-checkout solutions , also attracted attention among the novelties . your own products.
4. Wincor Nixdorf: payments via electronic wallets
Wincor Wallet is the new solution from the German manufacturer Wincor Nixdorf to turn smartphones into electronic wallets avoiding having to pay in cash, both in stores and at service stations. This solution is integrated into the TP Application Suite, Wincor Nixdorf’s virtual retail platform and the NAMOS service station suite.
The information is processed in the Wincor Nixdorf payment gateway that, in addition to processing traditional payments based on credit cards, allows ‘purse’ transactions, all in a PCI certified environment.
One of the main novelties of this product is its flexibility when paying both in traditional stores and in online stores, thanks to QR codes or NFC technology.
5. SAP: information optimization
SAP presented various information management and analysis solutions. In addition, it showed the success stories of some of its best clients such as STM (Société de transport de Montréal) or Crocs.
STM announced its mobile solution, which will provide all travelers with segmented and relevant information on more than 240 retailers in the Montreal region.
For its part, Crocs , an internationally renowned footwear brand, showed how SAP software for apparel and footwear is transforming its brand and driving business growth.
Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, Gold Award NRF 2013
The founder and CEO of Amazon, together with the companies Crocs and Kohl’s, have been honored by the Retail National Federation in its annual Awards in this edition of Retail’s Big Show. In the case of Bezzos, the individual Gold Award recognizes his long career from the founding of his company to making it today the strongest e-commerce company on the planet.
Amazon has become the most respected e-commerce company and at the same time the most watched by the largest retailers on the planet. Its well-cared strategy accompanied by a global expansion, both in foreign markets, as well as in segments and new business areas, have allowed the company to achieve exceptional levels of profitability and its founder, to receive the applause of the economic community and of Wal Street .
Strategy, excellence and retail activity are the three premises on which the members of the NRF are based when awarding the Grand Gold Prize. first time in history as the best Retailer to a company with activity only in online commerce.
For the first time, a Spanish project awarded at the International Store Design Awards
One more year, van 42, the city of New York brought together numerous professionals from the industry and retail design for the International Store Design Awards Gala. Awards that the Retail Design Institute (RDI) grants in its 16 categories. A Spanish project, Farmacia Santa Cruz , carried out entirely by the company Marketing Jazz , won First Prize in the Retail-Services Category.
The Farmacia Santa Cruz project, in the Canarian capital of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, is a 300 m2 establishment on the ground floor dedicated to Pharmacy and organized by categories, where it is very easy for the consumer to make a self-service purchase . On the second floor a medicine and beauty center has been created and on the third floor, apartments for the elderly with medical services. This is the new concept of retail specializing in health devised by the pharmacist Elsa Acosta and created by Marketing-jazz, the first Spanish firm specializing in visual marketing for retail.