Retail TouchPoints: Circuit City Grabs an EDGE by Incorporating Multi-Channel Intelligence into Tablet PCs

This is a great tool, especially in a product knowledge intense business like Circuit City's. Customers will appreciate this device as information is now readily available to the associate.

Correct pricing and accurate inventory counts are what closes sales in the electronics business. The reviews and sales questions are an invaluable resource that will increase sales at CC. I can see their big ticket numbers growing when this is fully deployed. This system will work in any environment where product knowledge is king.

Doron Levy, President, TheMortgageMachine.ca

It couldn't hurt. Right now, Circuit City is on the edge of the electronic abyss and, in my humble opinion, have one of the worst, ill-informed work forces in the industry. The only thing they seem to know is which sale will get them the most commission.

Even then, they have trouble closing the deal because their knowledge of the merchandise--and what the consumer really wants--is so poor.

Len Lewis, President, Lewis Communications, Inc.

The "Google it" mentality is a key driver for a lot of technology investments in stores right now. Our own research has shown that the only thing that might edge out retailer investment in handheld devices for employees are customer facing technologies. Retailers clearly seem to see the need to provide more information as part of the in-store shopping experience, and technology will definitely have to play a role in delivering that information.

But no technology is a silver bullet. Having a technology that works, that tests well with customers, and provides everything you designed it to do is a start. But employees have to understand how to use it--and when to use it as part of a customer's buying process. And customers have to understand what the handheld does and does not do--is it tracking any of my personal information? Where is all this information on ratings, reviews, and prices coming from (as Best Buy learned the hard way with the in-store "web" that showed higher competitive and online prices, you can fool some of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time)?

Circuit City has been working on this handheld for a long time, and I wish them all the best success for the effort. However, I can't help but reserve judgment--there have been a lot of other initiatives that CC has not done well in stores (how about firing all of the most experienced employees--right or wrong, at a minimum it was a PR nightmare). It's the right tool at the right time--provided that it can be positioned appropriately with both employees AND customers.

Nikki Baird, Managing Partner, RSR Research

The sales floor associates at the Apple Store carry hand-held devices. At minimum, I believe they have access to inventory. I am not sure what other information they carry, but I find the ability of these associates to complete a sale on the floor with their hand-helds to be very, very convenient.

The Circuit City application obviously goes well beyond Apple. I find it an outstanding addition to the sales system. Consider this; in an electronics store there are basically two types of shoppers. The first is the savvy tech person. They have done all their research, they know what they want and they don't need anybody selling them anything.

But, for the less savvy who are making significant purchases, this process adds great comfort and credibility to the Circuit City shopping experience. The EDGE becomes just that. For Circuit City, it is a competitive tool against other retailers. No longer does the shopper feel discomfort because he doesn't understand what the associate is telling him. Nor does the shopper distrust the information being propagated by the associate as self-serving to the retailer, or his commission or that is just wrong.

The idea that EDGE would allow Circuit City to hire customer oriented sales associates rather than tech oriented sales associates also becomes another big boost for the Circuit City shopping experience.

Gene Detroyer, Entrepreneur, Advisor, Consultant, Professor, Independent

Several points: 1. The web WILL be fully deployed on the sales floor in the next few years. However, the web itself is evolving, not just in content but in features. 2. It's one small step from the sales force having this to the shopper having it--and ultimately most likely deployed on their own personal device--PDA, cell phone, etc. The store's proprietary device is only a transitional step in what is coming. 3. "The technology is designed to speed the sales process..." This is a HUGE issue. We have a growing body of data that shows that the faster you sell, the more you sell, and now routinely use "shopper seconds" as the basic metric of shopping, just as money and units is the basic metric of sales. (Our White Paper, "The Three Shopping Currencies," may be helpful here.)

Herb Sorensen, Ph.D., Scientific Advisor TNS Global Retail & Shopper, Adjunct Senior Fellow, Ehrenberg-Bass Institute

We're impressed with Circuit City's "City" concept and all of the great idea-incubating that led to it...just wish it would roll out sooner than later. The concern I have with the handhelds is that seamlessly integrating them into the sales process will require specialized training. Are you truly engaging with a customer if you're constantly looking down at a little screen saying "hang on..."? Associates run the risk of killing a sale as customers become mistrustful of their less-than-spontaneous, cyber-coached sales associate.

Carol Spieckerman, President, newmarketbuilders

Have you seen the Plastic Logic Reader? I'm unfamiliar with the delivery hardware for the EDGE, but it can't be any cooler than this (color version in a few weeks they say). I'm fully on-board with Carol Spieckerman's concern about training, though. If Circuit City employees can barely get out of their own way, how are they going to learn to use the new sales devices rather than play with them?

M. Jericho Banks PhD, President, CEO, Forensic Marketing LLC

Information is King. Mobile browsing technology gives you almost all the information you could need in an instant, and that is often very key when making higher end purchases. It's these purchases that will make Circuit City the money they need to stay in business.

Dan Desmarais, President, Cantactix Solutions Inc.