Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 78

MYSTORE RETAILER'S GUIDE VOL. 9.4: MOBILE TECHNOLOGY

egy, explains Krista Napier, senior analyst for
mobility at IDC Canada.
“If you’re going to deploy something like this,
it has to be more than a last minute thing, a gimmick or a flavour of the month,” she says. “The
tablets should be a part of your full approach to
retail, part of your omnichannel strategy.”
Omnichannel has become a big buzzword,
but it matters more and more as customers
shop across channels.
“You want to have that integrated similar experience, whether a customer picks up a tablet
to look at something in your store, looking at
your store online or getting a flier at the door,”
says Napier.
Technology integration: Dax Dasilva, CEO
of LightSpeed, a tablet POS provider, says it’s
a mistake to try to “Frankenstein” tablets into
a store’s existing back-end system. No matter
what channel the customer uses—whether purchasing through the store’s e-commerce site, instore or by phone—a seamless integration will
have data from all channels flow to one place.

“I’ve been in a store and had somebody approach
me with a mobile point of sale device. They were
able to carry on the conversation I was having
with them when they were selling me the product
all the way through to the check-out.”
— KRISTA NAPIER
IDC Canada
“Being successful in all these channels in a
coherent way is the way a modern retailer is going to have a competitive edge. Not by having
all these channels as separate systems,” he says.
What’s unique about tablets is that retailers
can use consumer-grade tablets for business
purposes. In many cases, a couple of tablets,
computers, scanners, a back office computer
and a software subscription are enough to begin
using tablets on the sales floor. With the right
vendor, the switch-over to a new system doesn’t
have to be insurmountable—and, in fact, may
help some stores to streamline their dataflow.
But Napier points out the challenges for larger
independents with long-established processes.
“It’s still really early days for tablets. If you’re
starting up a little coffee shop on King West, it’s
not as much of a barrier to put something like
that in place. But if you already have a slew of
stores in place with a whole infrastructure, do
you really want to rip it all out?” she asks. “If so,
you better make sure you have a longer term
plan in place if you’re going to do that.”

78 |

canadian retailer | store 2013 | www.retailcouncil.org/cdnretailer

Sales process integration: Tablets should
add value to the sales process, not take away
from the experience. Creating upselling opportunities, delivering product information
and maintaining the impulse are ways tablets
add value. But adding value requires training
on how to use tablets wisely.
“If you’re going to deploy this, you better
make sure your employees are well trained on
it,” says Napier. “I’ve been in a store and had
somebody approach me with a mobile point
of sale device. They were able to carry on the
conversation I was having with them when
they were selling me the product all the way
through to the check-out. It wasn’t like I had
a conversation with the sales associate and
then had to go to the cash to check out. It was a
seamless experience.”
CAUTIONS AND CONSIDERATIONS

Independents interested in taking up tablets
should consider some of the limitations associated with tablets at this point in the game.
Find the right vendor

Finding the right vendor will take some research, but retailers will probably want to work
with a vendor who can help them streamline
the data flow. “You have to remember that you
have to integrate processes, and the processes
have to be very simple,” says Pascale Juan,
COO of I Love Velvet, a mobile POS provider.
“A tricky point is the integration with the back
office. We never know what is going on in the
back office. Sometimes the back-office is a legacy system with no Web services.” The right
vendor can turn the opportunity to add tablets
to the sales process into an opportunity to simplify and update the dataflow.
Take care of security

Like any Web-enabled technology, retailers
will need to ensure they have software to protect the data, as well as processes to protect the
hardware and passwords for the tablets.
Watch the future

The tablet market will change as it grows
out of its infancy. Retailers don’t want to get
locked into a system that can’t grow. Near Field
Communication, which gives smartphones the
ability to transfer data, is one emerging area
to consider. Retailers entertaining tablets will
want to think about opportunities three to five
years down the road.


http://www.retailcouncil.org/cdnretailer

Canadian Retailer - Store 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Retailer - Store 2013

PUBLISHER’S DESK
RETAIL CURRENTS
RETAIL: AT ISSUE
STORE 2013—EVOLUTION OF RETAIL
AWARDS OF DISTINCTION
EXCELLENCE IN RETAIL AWARDS
CONFERENCE INSIGHTS
RETAIL AS A CAREER SCHOLARSHIPS
LIBRIS AWARDS
GRAND PRIX AWARDS
TABLETS CHANGING THE RETAIL EXPERIENCE
MYSTORE AS UNIQUE AS MY STORE
RETAIL COUNCIL OF CANADA—CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF RETAIL INSPIRATION, INNOVATION AND GROWTH
50 YEARS STRONG: MOMENTOUS MOMENTS IN RECENT CANADIAN RETAILING HISTORY
STANDING UP FOR RETAILERS’ RIGHTS
CANADIAN E-COMMERCE INNOVATORS: THINKING OUTSIDE THE STORE
THE FUTURE OF RETAIL
ADVERTISERS’ INDEX
RETAIL QUICK TIPS
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - cover1
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - cover2
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 3
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 4
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 5
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - PUBLISHER’S DESK
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 7
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - RETAIL CURRENTS
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 9
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 10
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 11
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - RETAIL: AT ISSUE
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 13
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 14
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - STORE 2013—EVOLUTION OF RETAIL
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - AWARDS OF DISTINCTION
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 17
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 18
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 19
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 20
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 21
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 22
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 23
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 24
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 25
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 26
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 27
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 28
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 29
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 30
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 31
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 32
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - EXCELLENCE IN RETAIL AWARDS
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 34
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 35
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 36
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 37
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 38
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 39
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 40
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 41
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 42
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 43
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 44
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 45
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - CONFERENCE INSIGHTS
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 47
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 48
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 49
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - RETAIL AS A CAREER SCHOLARSHIPS
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 51
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 52
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - LIBRIS AWARDS
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 54
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 55
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 56
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 57
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - GRAND PRIX AWARDS
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 59
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 60
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 61
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 62
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 63
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 64
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 65
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 66
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 67
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 68
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 69
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 70
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 71
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 72
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 73
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 74
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 75
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 76
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - TABLETS CHANGING THE RETAIL EXPERIENCE
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 78
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 79
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 80
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - MYSTORE AS UNIQUE AS MY STORE
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 82
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 83
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 84
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - RETAIL COUNCIL OF CANADA—CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF RETAIL INSPIRATION, INNOVATION AND GROWTH
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 50 YEARS STRONG: MOMENTOUS MOMENTS IN RECENT CANADIAN RETAILING HISTORY
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 87
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 88
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 89
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 90
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 91
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 92
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 93
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - STANDING UP FOR RETAILERS’ RIGHTS
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 95
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 96
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 97
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - CANADIAN E-COMMERCE INNOVATORS: THINKING OUTSIDE THE STORE
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 99
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 100
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 101
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 102
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - THE FUTURE OF RETAIL
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 104
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 105
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 106
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 107
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 108
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - ADVERTISERS’ INDEX
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - RETAIL QUICK TIPS
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - cover3
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - cover4
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 113
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 114
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 115
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 116
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 117
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 118
Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 119
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