Canadian Retailer - Store 2015 - 24

KPMG ROUNDTABLE

KRUH: Just as we've been witnessing the rise of
ecommerce over the past five years or so, we're
now also witnessing the increased penetration
and propensity of mobile. Consumer usage on the
platform, primarily from a showrooming, pricecomparison and product search point-of-view,
is helping to further shape the retail experience.
And the future of mobile payments seems positive
as well with Apple paving the way with the release
of Apple Pay, providing the ability for millions of
iPhone6 owners to make contactless payments
with their devices. Starbucks has also recently
invested $25 million in mobile payment technology. And American Express is experimenting
with facial recognition to move their product forward. So, considering these developments, how is
the rise of mobile and mobile payments affecting
your business and your overall strategy?
ROSEN: We're excited about the prospect of mo-

bile payments, but we're very dependent on our
payment processing partners to be the leaders
in this area. When they make it possible, we'll be
there. Anything that facilitates a transaction, requiring the customer to go into their pockets and
wallets for one less card, is a wonderful thing.

PRUD'HOMME: We think the idea of mobile payments is exciting. However, we aren't there yet. We're working with our
partners to understand how we get there. Today we're leveraging mobile beyond the transaction-it's really about being
upstream in the customer's decision-making process. We
know that we need to be visible on their devices and to make
all of our customers aware of our nearest store location and
what our assortment is.
BEBIS: We're replacing all of our pin pads with those that have

tap technology. So, we'll be ready for mobile payments when
the time comes. But we're certainly looking at a number of
things with respect to its possible uses. Shopping in-store will
be big for us, allowing our customer to take a picture of the bottle that's in front of them and to make the purchase right then.
Providing the option to customers to complete a transaction
without the need to go through a register is a differentiator.

DINAN: We've been upgrading our technology to prepare ourselves for the shift. It's definitely the future. It's going to be very
exciting and interesting to see how mobile revolutionizes payments-when it happens. Everyone today lives off their phone.
The more people can put into their phones, taking more things
out of their wallets, the better they feel. And as a retailer, the
more we can do to help facilitate that the better.

Technology is a mainstay today. There's no arguing
that point. It's here, and going forward, it will continue to
play a larger part in our daily lives. For retailers across the
industry, this means embracing the propensity of its use
and finding ways to integrate the right technologies into
their businesses to grow and better serve their customers.
Based on this roundtable discussion, it's clear that
there are many Canadian companies already well on
their way with respect to their technological journey.
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CANADIAN RETAILER | STORE 2015

And, it's clear, too, that the only way they've managed
to be so successful in their respective journeys is by
understanding their strategy and maintaining a focus
on the needs of their business and their customers to
support that strategy. Technology may have the ability
to change everything, but it's just one piece of the retail puzzle. Intuition and an intimate knowledge of the
customer and the business will always be the greatest
assets any retailer possesses.

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