Sandy Miller

RSR Research: Stores Say They Need More Knowledgeable, Tech-Enabled Employees

July 19, 2010

FROM RETAILWIRE:
In RSR's just-released annual report on in-store technologies, The Customer-Centric Store 2010: How Retailers Engage Tech-enabled Customers, they studied how stores plan to contend with a smart phone-armed customer with more power in hand than any employee in the store. How should stores plan to contend with the legions of customers with smart phones?      [more...]

The great opportunity stores have is presenting clear, convincing, and interesting, informative Reasons to Buy (RTB) in a physical format that has a presence throughout the store. The store is the most important media platform which few retailers are effectively using to sell more products. And when shoppers buy more of retailer's products, sales and profits increase and the shopper receives the benefit they will appreciate. A RTB physical program benefits shoppers, retailers and CPG manufacturers.

When a RTB program is done effectively (which is rarely done) it provides reasons to more fully shop the store. And such a physical program enhances employee knowledge while enhancing employees' communication with shoppers. Reason to Buy messages are retailers' added virtual employees (similar to an ATM machine) that they don't have to pay $8-10 per hour for.