What's new in retail technology?

As technology changes, so do the resources available to retailers; in fact, it’s changing so fast that it’s hard to keep up with all of it. And those changes aren’t all in the areas you’d think. You might expect advances in point-of-sale (POS) systems, and that’s happening, but other technological changes mean better protection from break-ins, more efficient use of advertising dollars, and better management of e-commerce.

While no one article can cover everything that’s out there, we can take a peek at some of what’s coming in the way of retail technology changes, and how you can expect it to impact -- and improve -- your business.

Making things burglarproof

Any retailer, even a garden center, is vulnerable to “smash and grab” burglary. Although most thieves won’t be interested in plants, if you’re carrying high-end gift items you may be a target. And the cash register of any store is certainly of interest to those who would rather steal money than work for it.

One of the newest trends in burglary deterrent is sound. Some companies install systems that, along with a traditional burglar alarm that notifies police, lay down a “wall of sound” that is so loud and disorienting that it incapacitates a burglar until police have time to arrive.

Another deterrent is a fog or smoke system which, when combined with a strobe light, so confuses a burglar that he doesn’t know which way to turn. The principle here is simple: if he can’t see it, he can’t steal it.

Although a number of companies are working on products such as these, fire officials have raised some issues about the efficacy and legality of smoke-generating systems. In an article in the May, 2007 issue of Fire Chief, The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) expressed concerned about burglar alarm systems that deploy dense smoke to incapacitate an intruder.

“In essence, a complement of 15 to 20 firefighters is sent to a report of smoke in a building, but when they arrive, they have a burglary in progress with a perpetrator who may be armed at worst and disoriented and confused at best,” chief Jim Harmes, IAFC president, is quoted as saying in the article. The article goes on to state that the International Fire Code specifically prohibits these types of systems, and that companies installing them are willingly transmitting a false alarm to a fire department. So before you install such a system, be sure to check with your local fire department or fire marshal, and follow any local and state regulations.

Signage

Printing any kind of sign once was an expensive proposition. But with the advent—and now refinement—of digital printing, the cost of signage has come down considerably, and probably will continue to do so. Many companies offer not only printing, but design, die-cutting, large format, installation, photographic, wrap-around, and other services.

Some of the advantages of digital printing include:

Cost effectiveness. Charges for material and labor are reduced or eliminated both pre-press and during printing.

Accuracy. You can proof everything and make even tiny corrections without having to typeset a job over again; and what you see is exactly what you get.

Fast turn-around time. Digital printing requires fewer steps, which speeds up the entire process.

Print on demand. You don’t have to print large numbers of anything and store them; just order what you need at the time. If you want to make changes to the brochure, pamphlet, or whatever, you can, and then reprint it with those changes later. Or just reprint it exactly as you printed it the first time. And there’s never a lot of outdated material that you need to throw away because you had to order too much to get what you needed.

Personalization -- you can make your projects as personal as you want to, which makes your customers feel like you’re talking directly to them and increases sales and customer attention.

Advertising

This hasn’t hit the garden center industry yet, but it’s on the radar. A company that began in the banking and finance industry has come up with an innovative and creative way to make advertising easy for retailers of any kind. Many garden center owners say they don’t do newspaper, magazine, Yellow Pages or Internet advertising because they can’t create an ad themselves and can’t afford to pay anyone else to do it.

That excuse isn’t going to hold water any more. Working with manufacturers across a number of industries, The Ad Shop is creating a series of online venues where retailers can access product information and ad templates and create sophisticated, professional ads, banners, shelf talkers and point of purchase materials -- free. The system even delivers the ad to the newspaper or other advertising medium of the retailer’s choice, and stores it on line so he can edit it and use it again later. This is going to be a must-see for any retailer who wants to improve his advertising efficiency and bottom line.

POS Systems

Expect future POS systems to go far beyond just sophisticated cash register and inventory control systems. Some of the new systems are actually full retail management systems that encompass not only POS, but also Customer Relationship Management (CRM), bookkeeping, Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable, Open-To-Buy, inventory management, data mining, training systems, and e-commerce. At least one of these new systems is being built using Java technology so it’s flexible and easy to integrate with your day-to-day activities.

RFID

These days it’s impossible to talk about retail technology without mentioning RFID, or Radio Frequency Identification. This is becoming a very common method of tracking product from the point of manufacture to the point of sale worldwide. And it’s not just for large retailers; smaller garden centers will benefit from it as well, as it makes inventory management and tracking easier in the retail environment. Before long you will be able to tell exactly and accurately what you have in your garden center and what you need to order, without having to walk the grounds every day; it will be as simple as reading RFID tags from a distance to know what’s happening both inside your store and outside in the gardening area itself.

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- Carolee Anita Boyles

Carolee Anita Boyles is a freelance writer in Tampa, Fla.

May 2008