Article

GlobalShop 2013: WD Partners discuss 'digital disconnect'

Executives with WD Partners revealed exclusive study results during their GlobalShop conference session.

April 19, 2013 by Natalie Gagliordi — Editor of KioskMarketplace.com, Networld Media Group

Retail was simple, once upon a time. There was a store and a customer. Then convenience, price and technological innovation began to rule the day.

At least that's the scenario put forth to attendees at the start of the session, "Digital Disconnect: We're Wired, But Are We Winning?" at this year's GlobalShop trade show in Chicago, where John Bajorek, VP of digital services at WD Partners, and his colleage Lee Peterson, the EVP of creative services at WD Partners, explained how these days, living and shopping are totally connected.

But what does this mean?

According to Bajorek and Peterson, it means customers can be reached anywhere. They can make purchases anytime, anywhere — and they are always shopping. Hype is abounding on the potential of mobile and digital technologies to change how consumers engage with retail brands. The task for retailers is to figure out what tools consumers actually want to help them with the process.

During the session, Bajorek and Peterson released the results from a national consumer study they helmed in search of the opt-out threshold of in-store technology engagement. Results included insights gleaned from qualitative, in-depth focus groups that aim to give retailers a better understanding of how they should be prioritizing and selecting components of their digital strategy.

The study included a generational mix of respondents, with 24 percent Millennials, 37 percent Gen-Xers and 39 percent Baby Boomers. The respondents ranked the following 14 technologies based on the categories of appeal, awareness and usage: mobile wallet, endless aisle, product location, geofencing, mobile coupons, mobile checkout, loyalty rewards, peer ratings/reviews, product narrowing tools, location-based services, interactive vending machines, product configuration tools, buy online/pick up in store (BOPIS) and decision support tools.

Key findings

The study found that while respondents had a high level of awareness and interest across the range of technologies, the actual usage was lower than expected. Bajorek and Peterson attributed the low usage to a lack of availability for consumers to engage with certain technologies.

BOPIS was the top most appealing technology option, while interactive vending topped the list for both awareness and usage. The top five overall technology options found in the study are as follows:

1. Interactive vending

2. BOPIS

3. Customer identification

4. Mobile-based coupons

5. Mobile checkout

Falling in the "no brainer" category, Bajorek and Peterson said BOPIS, endless aisle and associate empowerment tools were the most cost-effective investments available to retailers looking to step up their digital game. The best investments for specialty stores are customer identification tools, product ratings/reviews and mobile coupons, while big box stores should invest in product locator technology and interactive vending, according to the study.

But in order for technology usage to make a significant increase, retailers need to catch up with the consumer. Citing the evolutionary wisdom of Charles Darwin, Bajorek and Peterson said retailers will eventually succumb to a survival of the fittest:

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change."

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