A panel of shopping technology providers presented innovations that eliminate customer friction during the CES show in Las Vegas.
Mukul Dhankar demonstrates the Mashgin touchless self-checkout kiosk at CES. Panelists Deepak Jain of Wink and Valerie Vacante of dentsu look on.
Payment cards, passwords and user names will soon go the way associated with the horse and buggy, with shoppers able to initiate and complete the transaction simply by showing their face plus saying “hello. ” And that future has already begun in order to materialize, according to a panel of buying technology companies who presented innovations that eliminate store friction during a presentation, titled “frictionless retail store, ” at the recent DE TELLES show within Las Vegas.
Moderator Paul Gagnon, vice president regarding NPD Group, the Washington, D. C. -based research firm, began the session by defining frictionless list as follows:
- Finding the right products quickly.
- Fast or no checkout.
- Secure in addition to fast payment.
- Meeting the consumer where they are.
- Offering flexibility of service.
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Moderator John Gagnon involving NPD presents research on the growth of digital shopping throughout the CES conference. |
Each connected with the three panelists then presented a way that technology innovation has reduced customer friction.
Computer vision enhances self peruse
In the particular strictly physical space, AI-powered computer vision cameras now allow guests to check out multiple items inside one transaction, as demoed on stage by panelist Mukul Dhankar, CTO and even founder with Mashgin, typically the Palo Alto, California-based manufacturer of a touchless self-checkout kiosk.
The system is already live in more than 1, 800 locations, including c-stores, stadiums, airports and ski resorts.
Integrating physical, electronic
Scan & Go — an app-free, contactless purchasing technology from dentsu — integrates with a retailer’s e-commerce and loyalty platforms, noted panelist Valerie Vacante, bassesse president for solutions improvements for this Austin, Texas-based company.
Zeichen, a San Jose, California-based identity platform that uses biometrics, tackled the security challenge as it relates to searching. In introducing the solution, panelist Deepak Jain, founder and CEO at Wink, said often the assumption that will frictionless together with security don’t mix offers now become dated.
“We decided to be able to challenge of which paradigm and additionally figure out a new solution for retailers not to mention service suppliers and financial institutions that will allow them for you to not only offer a frictionless experience that is device-agnostic, which is omnichannel and that also provides the best throughout class security, ” he said.
Zeichen uses both voice and also face recognition to identify the user as well as allow them to check around and check out, be it in-store or online. There is no need for the consumer to have a password, user name or number, as with memory- or device-based platforms.
Applied either in-store or on the internet, Wink’s audio greets your customer by name and guides them through ID verification, order process plus payment.
Biometrics can also eliminate the rubbing a customer faces trying to prove he or she is some sort of rewards member by showing a card or IDENTIFICATION number or by scanning a QR code, Jain said.
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Mukul Dhankar, Deepak Jain, Valerie Vacante and Robert Gagnon discuss frictionless retail industry at TOUS CES in Las Vegas. |
What about retail shrink?
In addition to removing shopper chaffing, the panelists noted the fact that their enhancements also help address an issue that provides been raised in response to autonomous shopping solutions — retail price theft.
Dhankar said Mashgin takes pictures of every transaction. If someone steals something, the exact system can provide pictures to the retailers.
In addition , biometric identification puts visitors on alert that they are being recorded.
“If it will be an unscrupulous customer, this individual knows that he’s being biometrically identified, ” Dhankar said, which makes such a customer less likely to walk out with an unpaid item or to help use a stolen credit card.
Acomodo said there can also be an onsite employee monitoring the store, whose presence discourages theft.
Beyond shrinkage: inventory reduction
Reducing the amount of stock in the particular showroom is usually yet another way to prevent shrinkage, typically the panelists mentioned, as well as helping to reduce inventory costs.
Vacante referenced a food retailer that limited shelf inventory in addition to encouraged friends to view products online for home delivery.
“It helped the store alleviate inventory and provide that kind of assistance associated with getting the flavor you like, ” she said.
Consumer privacy, affordability
As for the privacy concerns that will biometrics sometimes create, the particular panelists said rising consumer acceptance regarding technology is addressing this issue.
“I think consumers are seeing this in all walks of life, ” including usage in supermarkets, airports and connected cars, Dhankar said. “Cameras are making things safer plus more secure. ”
As for affordability, a concern often raised by smaller retailers, Jain said newer technology should be more affordable with time.
Vacante agreed.
“We can work with a small-medium business into a very light-weight from a design perspective… We try to design all involving these products in the way where there’s kind of a light-, medium- in addition to heavy-weight option, ” Acomodo said. “For us, from a design perspective, we want to provide more accessibility — with more brands, more people, a lot more consumers to engage. ”
Digital shopping on the move
Meanwhile, digital shopping continues to grow.
Online sales grew from 44% within 2019 to almost 60% in 2020 and hasn’t declined much, Gagnon connected with NPD stated. He echoed numerous other researchers inside stating that the consumer preference for online commerce of which took hold during the pandemic has not diminished. “People still prefer to purchase their products on the internet, ” he said.
Another change wrought by the pandemic is the tendency to use social media when seeking items to buy, he mentioned. This past holiday season, 20% of all shoppers used social media whenever searching with regard to gifts.
This, in turn, has led to a new surge throughout direct-to-consumer product sales.
“The brand (as opposed to typically the retailer) is the one making the transaction happen, ” Gagnon explained.
Photos: Networld Media Group.
Elliot Maras may be the editor with Kiosk Marketplace and Vending Times. He brings three decades covering unattended retail and even commercial foodservice.
