Tech In Retail – Getting It Wrong, Getting It Right

One of the key points in our Future of Retail report is that retailers need to stop looking to use technology to (only) create efficiencies, but also use it to create heightened experiences.

Often the drive for efficiency sucks the soul out of retail. This morning on my way through New York’s LaGuardia airport to give a Future of Retail presentation in Memphis, I went to get a breakfast at Pat LaFrieda‘s concession there (partly because I’ve just known LaFrieda as a meat-packing brand from the west side of Manhattan and not a food retailer). Here they have opted for touch screen ordering. In some ways, it allows the shopper to make their choices and creates automation in the process which I suppose picks up the ordering speed – but in practice, the removal of a human at order-taking reduces the service and leaves the consumer with uncertainties.

With the 3 people standing in line before me, two of them called into the kitchen asking if they had the order right, and if they could confirm something in their order — even I asked where I had to go to get a bag and napkins. The order was spelled out on the receipt but as no human had let them know that they had ‘got their order,’ they distrusted the system to get their breakfast right.

Later I would see how a touchscreen enhanced my experience. Perhaps because I rarely travel Delta, I was pleasantly surprised when I got to my gate and found a fresh layout of tables and chairs for the passengers to sit at. Electrical outlets were plentiful and above many of them were iPads that offered games and other distractions. At the bottom of the screen (and probably the main purpose of the device) was an app where you could submit your order to a cafe and they would come and deliver it. In this occasion, the use of technology was apt: at that moment, someone behind this system understood that when a passenger is at their gate, bags at their feet, they are reticent to get up and go on a walk that would mean fighting the crowds — and possibly missing the flight (unlikely but it’s there ringing in the back of people’s minds).

Use technology to add a human touch to the retail experience. Try your best to hide it from plane view and empower staff and the environment to make dynamic, informed interactions with shoppers to guide them through the purchase path.

PSFK’s Future Of Retail Report