Good communication between staff and consumers in store can boost sales. But exactly how can paging and communications devices help with sales? Scott Frain, managing director, BluFi Wireless Asia talks to Retail in Asia about how retailers can apply communications products to different retail scenarios. He also shares some avant-garde ideas on how to upsell customers in shops.
RIA: Why is in-store communication important?
Scott Frain (SF): Communication is the key to any business. There is so much information flow these days that it needs to be properly communicated. Any customer has the ability to make a purchase. We can help in that purchase by understanding the customer more. Having the ability to display a type of product to a certain type of consumer greatly enhances the chance they will make a purchase. There are too many choices these days, what makes one similar retailer better? Most likely their knowledge of the product, their service level, how well they communicate to the customer, and then the information flow to carry out the purchase. Our core business focus at Blufi is bringing all of these aspects together in one coherent yet simple model.
RIA: Can you list three paging and communications products that can be applied to the daily operation of a retail outlet?
SF: 1. Call button systems in changing rooms – Only five out of 50 men will return to the rack if they have the wrong size in changing rooms, 20 out of 50 women. By placing call buttons in changing rooms, customers can call assistants to change the size or colour of an item, without having to redress. Once the customer has interacted with an assistant, the door is open to the upsell opportunity. "This shirt goes very well with those pants… why don’t you try it on!"
2. Video tracking technology – These video cameras can track where people stand in a store and for how long. By interfacing directly to the communications platforms, shop managers can instruct staff to react instantly to busy areas.
3. Call buttons in aisle areas – These buttons can be used anywhere people need to interact with staff, for example when a customer want to look at an item in a locked cabinet, or perhaps, when an item is heavy or too high. Many customers will not purchase if they are unable to find a staff member to help them. The benefit to the retailer again is that once this interaction is made there is then ample opportunity to upsell to that customer.
RIA: How can retailers benefit from these products?
SF: Customer interaction can bring quick return on investment (ROI). The ability to upsell means revenues increase – as upselling can transform a single purchase customer to a multiple purchase customer. Clever retailers will definitely make use of simple upselling techniques to boost their sales.
Whilst our products lead to quick revenue increases, they also have a similar desired effect in that they lead to cost savings. By using our products in stores, retailers can enhance staff productivity and improve communication. Stock shrinkage can also be easily reduced.
RIA: Can you suggest some communication products for different retail formats?
SF: High-end fashion shops can use video tracking to see where people stop and pick up items. At the same time, they can make use of call buttons to summon staff to changing areas, again this leads to ideal upsell opportunities.
F&B can make use of our guest call system – a simple numbered paging system for calling customers back to the counter to pick up their meals. We also offer table call systems used by many F&B outlets to call staff to the table.
Supermarkets can make use of in-aisle push buttons to call for staff if an item is too high, or too heavy – a 25Kg bag of rice for example. Customers can notify staff by one press if a spill is found in an aisle. We also offer a very clever push button system at the point of sale to call for assistance, managers, change etc.
RIA: What other types of paging and communications products are out there?
SF: Communication within your environment is paramount these days, whether it be between staff or more importantly to customers. Our products range from basic push buttons to call for assistance to video tracking and analytics modelling to pre-empt where assistance will be required. We offer solutions from basic paging, through to hands free Bluetooth technology and most devices in between including digital phones, radios, mobile phones, DECT systems, etc. We are able to offer a complete environment solution for all sorts of communication requirements. We are also able to easily interface with third party systems such as security and building management systems.
As easy as it sounds, we take an action (button push, door opening, alarm) and communicate it as required.
RIA: Can you share with our readers a recent case study of improving in-store communications?
SF: We have over 25,000 customers worldwide, ranging from single outlets to chains of over 6,000 stores. We are quite lucky to have products suited to many verticals such as healthcare, hospitality, gaming, F&B and retail. I would say we would deal with most of the better known companies and brands in each of these sectors.
We recently had a large retail client who sells furniture and home living products. Their customers generally have a lot of questions, and at the same time the products are heavy so that they cannot easily be moved. Most products in the showroom have to be ordered and as such interaction between customers and staff is high. Therefore, we placed call boxes in particular locations, so customers can press the call box for help in these locations and staff in that area will be notified. As there are multiple departments in the same store, staff members have to be specifically trained to answers questions related to products in these particular areas. These staff members also need good sales techniques so that they can upsell other products when they are called. This led to productivity improvements, quicker sales cycles and multiple purchases amongst other benefits. In fact, the ROI on our products can normally be measured in weeks.
Scott Frain is the managing director of BluFi Wireless Asia. He has over 20 years business management and information technology experience, more than 10 of these in Asia. He has worked extensively in the banking and finance sectors, FMCG, hospitality, healthcare and government sectors throughout Asia and currently serves in an "IT director" capacity for many of his clients.
BluFi was established in Australia over 15 years ago. It initially catered to communications in the healthcare industry, providing products such as nurse call systems. Over the years, BluFi has expanded into hospitality, F&B, gaming and more recently into retail.
Taking Stock is Retail in Asia’s fortnightly column dedicated to showcasing opinions from experts in the retail industry.