Dispatches from the Future of Retail: GlobalShop 2012

By Matt Wilson, SBC General Manager

It’s the first week of March, and I’m out in Las Vegas attending GlobalShop 2012, the largest store design and at-retail marketing show in the United States.

DAY 1: Solving the in-store problems of today with the tools of tomorrow

GlobalShop is really two shows in one. Show One: Fixtures, store visualization, display systems, and data systems. Show Two: The Future. What was futuristic last year is now a reality.

Here are a few developments from this year’s show, with more coming at the conclusion.

Quick Response Codes – Last year we were happy if consumers used Quick Response (QR) Codes. Now it’s a content-rich industry unto itself.

Industry leader ScanLife has a data backbone and content serving system that creates, archives and takes QR codes to the next level. They can design codes that sniff out operating systems and direct content to the content player that best suits the smart phone. Other tricks allow QR users to send a pre-filled tweet about the product or service they are reviewing. They even have a code system that accrues points per different items scanned (think ShopKick).  

Digital Point of Purchase - I get a headache every time I hear about digital/video Point of Purchase (POP) technology that promises retailers they can flip a switch and their content will update automatically. Why? Because the industry has been saddled by proprietary software and data feed systems that lock retailers in for years. Meanwhile, the capital expenditure payback never happens. Obsolescence is a big reason for this. Enter a company called Activate The Space. They built an inexpensive interface that works on a Mac (i.e. at a retailer’s headquarters) that feeds into a $600 Mac mini at the store. Samsung screens are built into a frame and the retailer gets HD motion or still images. Boom. You just updated your brand and POP system. For smaller, shelf-level product videos, check out DUCO's inexpensive LCD media players. Content is stored on the device with flash-drive uploads. No more big screens. These players can be shipped in the product palettes and set up by junior associates in store. Plug and play!

MerMannequins - Pardon the Blue Steel reference, but Lifestyle & Trimco and RPM Displays have great lines of Mannequins. Seriously, I stared at them like Caesar stared at James Franco in Planet of the Apes. Be thee human? Anyway, they actually have plus-sized mannequins that honor the different curvy shapes of plus-sized women.

Digital Lollipops - Here we see the merging of web, digital POP, and apps. One example is an interface that allows apparel customers to actually build an outfit in the store on a 65" vertical monitor. The best part, aside from a ton of clipping paths, is that digital photography taken for the web can be used as items on this interface. So, you pick your body style, which shows up in ghost form, then slide the items on the body – intimate wear, shape wear, hats, bags, jewelry, shoes. All that's missing is a smile, which will come from the CMO if customers convert the virtual outfit to in-store or online purchase.

Other Observations - David Beckham is overwhelmingly the most overused image in the show to demonstrate samples. However, the amount of Facebook uploads among the female attendees of GlobalShop is making the booth operators happy.

Sparkle Ponies: Had to say it. Everything is sparkly. Sparkly walls. Sparkly poster frames. Sparkly LED diodes in the shelf talkers, associate buttons, gift cards, and even product packaging. Seriously.

DAY 2: Tactics galore: Using technology to drive retail engagement

Live from Las Vegas, it’s a second day of observations from GlobalShop 2012, the largest store design and at-retail marketing show in the United States.

Our theme today: Old-school fixture trade show meets new-school "future of retail" show.

If you were here, you would notice that, overall, there are many compelling technologies, but nobody has put together a complete inside-out look at linking the customer experience. There’s lots of tactics, but it’s short on strategy. That being said, we all know how easy it is to be an armchair quarterback. Let's see what you think.

The Wallet – Starbucks is the leader in this technology where your smartphone becomes your Starbucks wallet. The idea is that customers can register their Starbucks card data on the app for easy-swipe purchases. It's a great work-around until wallet technology becomes pervasive. Don't have enough on your card for your triple-shot Venti cafe Americano on ice? Use the app with embedded credit card information and you’re back in business. Google wallet, now in beta, will allow all customers to store credit card, gift card, coupons, and loyalty programs in one application.

Hologram-ish BrandBassadors – Tensator, the people that brought you the retractable straps on a post, developed this hologram-looking video screen in the shape of a human. The uses would include: motion-activated greetings, directions to navigate a store or call out specials, and prompts to customers upon entry to check-in on Facebook or Foursquare.  It's quite stunning, but it could be annoying to the poor associate who has to listen to the looped recording. Still, the technology is a unique and engaging merchandising system for use at trade shows, store areas light on associate coverage, and exit doors to prevent shrinkage.

Smart-Fixture Video – You can find amazing point-of-purchase in the toy aisle. Think about it –you have to sell a toy like a Skylander to moms who have no idea what a Skylander is. So, they developed a display system that features an "altar" where you can put each of the different Skylander products. A video then plays a custom demonstration of special powers each one of the different toy designs feature for play and interaction. It merges the LCD technology we talked about on GlobalShop day 1 with RFID recognition. Applications for product lines with many models or replenishment systems could navigate customers through the selection and choice process.

In-Store Social Engagement – Mood Media, the in-store music and media specialist, launched their partnership with Shazam.  Shazam is the app that allows you to find the name of any song playing – just hold it up and the platform transforms the music into notes and they use that data to comb a deep database to tell you what the song is. When customers (the super-desirable Millennials) are in your store and start Shazam-ing your music selection, the customer sees a customized Shazam screen with your retail brand and allows you to push specials, messages, suggestive selling, and pre-selling future events. Of course, you have to have a good station on. With 175 million Shazam users, you have to try a little.

Magnetic POP – Visual Magnetics launched an interesting system that overcomes one of the biggest challenges in POP change outs:  fixture hassle. You paint magnetic paint on the wall, you place their magnetic base on the wall, and you print your POP set on their magnetic paper in glossy, matte, canvas, or bamboo. It really looks great and it’s easy to work with. But the trade-off from special fixtures is the use of special magnetic backing and paper. There’s definitely something here.

Other Observations – Want Links with your Breakfast?  Try these apps for a diet of new retail tools that many are piloting in their stores today:

- Augmented Reality:  Converse's new shoe app, The Sampler, activates your camera viewer. Aim it at your foot and converse shoes are mapped on top of yours.

- Aisle411 and the Meijer Find-It App:  Both apps map a path around the store using your shopping list. Worried about a shopper not hitting the impulse purchases? It sells adjacencies to you as you travel through the store.

- Check-in with Humanity:  To encourage FB and Foursquare check-ins at their stores, Walgreens’ “Way to Well” encourages customers with a free “Flu Shot for Charity” with every check- in. Other retailers are installing charging stations in-store to captivate customers for a quick five minute charge, encouraging social check-ins and email and SMS sign ups. Good ideas!