2023 marks the fourth year of a decade that began with a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic that transformed the retail industry. As supply chain issues and other economic challenges caused by the pandemic continue to fester, retailers are finding a new normal with hybrid shopping. This means retailers have even more opportunities...
How to Approach Implementing Autonomous Checkout
Though autonomous checkout has demonstrated clear benefits to those who implement it well, the implementation doesn’t come without its challenges. One of the biggest pitfalls we see in self-checkout implementations is the propensity to treat this new technology as we would treat any other POS terminal.
Can your business fully automate UAT and Certification?
titive tasks in place of manual human re-entry. Given the current state of automated testing, however, W. Capra urges any merchant exploring automated capabilities to ensure that human resources continue to remain a part of testing— not just to oversee testing robotics, but to play an active role in the...
What does the new Taco Bell Defy concept mean for Convenience?
This new Taco Bell concept should not be seen merely as a signal to other fast-food operators and Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) that change is coming; this is a sign to all who strive to offer quick, convenient, access to high quality food and drink that adaptation is required. As...
How Your Competitors Inform Your Program Strategy
While too strong of a focus on the competition will not lead you closer to a winning program strategy, collecting competitive insights with purpose as part of your broader program strategy can enable new insights to help you serve your consumer base. These insights can solidify your understanding of table...
Now May Be the Time for a Resale Platform
Beyond the financial benefits, there are plenty of benefits associated with the RaaS model. From a branding perspective, when the merchant stamps the resale, it signals to the world that the product holds up through time and use. There’s also an ecological and reputational advantage to RaaS in that resale...
How and when to forge boldly ahead with an autonomous checkout solution?
Consumer expectations around reduced friction at checkout, not waiting in long lines and burgeoning labor shortages have made self-checkout solutions more imperative than ever before.
Convenience & Energy and the Growth of Subscription Services
Subscriptions are everywhere you look, including places where subscriptions haven’t traditionally been leveraged, such as fast-food chains and movie theaters. Convenience stores and energy retailers are no exception. There are many reasons for the growth of subscription services.
Not All Fleets Are Created Equal
Whether an organization maintains an existing fleet offering or they’re evaluating fleet as a new opportunity, one of the most common barriers that retailers face when attempting to gain incremental market share is that their offering assumes a universal need across the fleet portfolio. In reality, the needs that over-the-road...
Buy Now, Pay Later is here to stay. But should your business be ready?
Many consumers and merchants have embraced Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) solutions. For merchants, the opportunity to boost their basket sizes, increase total transaction volume, and access a broader demographic base has been a boon. Consumers view it as a way of purchasing big ticket items while avoiding the burden...
Using Data Sciences to Understand Your Business
To maximize the efficacy of your data, you need to set an action plan that the data should inform from the moment of collection. To do this to the fullest, it’s essential to stay ahead of market trends and data science techniques. Where merchant organizations have identified a problem to...
Why should merchants consider implementing a Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) solution?
BNPL can be viewed as an extension of the consumer credit card programs that emerged in the late 1980s, but with a unique upside for merchants. In contrast to credit cards, BNPL companies help expand the available consumer base, but they adopt the risk themselves by funding the purchase to...