Shopper identification is a challenge because of both shopper apprehension and technology. As noted, there is not one consistent, reliable way to identify shoppers as they enter the store. The ubiquity of mobile phones makes them the most likely way to accomplish shopper identification, but this is not yet foolproof. The other issue is shopper apprehension. Shoppers need to want to be identified when they enter a store and clearly not every shopper desires this. Ultimately, the solution will need to be a combination of formal shopper opt-in combined with a reliable identification mechanism.

I’ll disagree with Ross (above). I think shoppers do not really want to be identified. We have, I believe, the technology to identify them if they give permission via app. The fact that they don’t give permission indicates to me that what we want and what the shopper wants are likely two different things.

There are some innovative retailers that have actually been identifying shoppers BEFORE they arrive at the store. If you think about the inherent advantage other industries like airline and hospitality have, these companies know ahead of time what their influx of customers will be via reservation systems. We absolutely have technologies that could transfer this advantage to brick-and-mortar retailers today. This will dramatically help demand forecasting, store staff scheduling and myriad other business functions. The time is now for more retailers to start trials and adopt this capability.

This is a huge missed opportunity. CVS has already addressed this, with a kiosk spewing coupons at the entrance of the store. Technology isn’t holding retailers back — it’s only the willingness to use it.

And discounts aren’t the only incentive for self-identification. Older customers and handicapped ones may want assistance as they shop. This isn’t hard to do. Why aren’t more retailers embracing it?

At this early stage of the use of the technology, shopper apprehension would be the bigger issue. There is a bit of a shock factor when your phone beeps a message to you upon walking into a store. The technology as I know it is very solid to be able to track a MAC address as long as the phone’s Wi-Fi feature is turned on. Most of us leave it on anyway. Those shoppers who have the retailer’s app, and they are few, expect to see a message upon entering the store. I do think more awareness on the part of the retailer may help but making good offers via the phone would also work to the retailer’s benefit. Do not just tell customers what is on sale but what special sale is there for them based on their shopping history. Most people like to be greeted by store staff and especially by managers. Retailers who use the Wi-Fi phone app to greet shoppers could be a more practical path to a more aggressive use… Read more »

I agree with Stephen, shoppers do not want to be identified in a store. They may not really want to be identified online either but may not have a choice. I believe that most people would opt out if they had a choice. I give the store my credit card and that is the only ID I share. No, they may not have my email, address or other information.

Shopper identification, once it is a seamless and frictionless experience, will be am advancement that will provide significant dividends around curating a personalized and customized experience. The one thing holding this back is the technological maturity, in addition to the shopper’s trusting retailers enough to provide this information.

Once this is a mature part of the shopping experience and the value of identifying yourself once you enter the store is clearly articulated to the customer, then this will take off. Beacon technologies and SMS real-time messaging were the latest trends over the past few years, however, retailers have struggled in operationalizing this across their stores. What is most intriguing is the the roll-out of the Amazon Go convenience stores, where the customer identifies themselves freely when entering the store. How Amazon will leverage this information will provide the proof of concept we are all waiting for.

It’s not about technology limitations but about instilling a new set of behaviors by both retailer and shopper. The litany of technologies and use cases in the report speak to an inherent desire to design a passive technology solution that either does not require action by customers or identifies them indirectly when they take some other action such as logging on to the store’s Wi-Fi. Why not make customer identification a conscious step in store design and be clear about it with your customers? Let’s think about the Amazon Go store. The customers self-identify when they step into the store by scanning their mobile device. It’s an explicit opt-in action that gives the store the right to monitor and facilitate their shopping. For brick-and-mortar stores, they can make identification an explicit opt-in step. Instead of making the customer wait until they checkout to find out how much they saved, why not do the scan at the entry with a promise to deliver a more rewarding shopping experience? Customer apprehension is very real whenever you use… Read more »

The biggest limitation with shopper identification in brick-and-mortar retail environments is neither technology nor shopper apprehension. It is retail strategy where neither customers nor customer-focused technology (which should follow customer strategy) have been top priorities, at least for most retailers. While there are exceptions, retailers have struggled to do fundamental things like accurately track real-time store-level inventories, so it’s not a surprise that in-store customer identification prior to a POS experience hasn’t been a top priority.

Retail technology is not easy, as there are a lot of moving parts. What is easy (or at least easier), is reprioritizing a business strategy that is more focused on customers and their customer experience.

Mobile technology will change how (and when) stores identify the shopper. The technology is here (e.g. FutureProof Retail’s line-free mobile checkout system). Moving the POS onto the smartphones gives brick-and-mortar retailers the chance to digitize and customize their customer experience in stores. But adoption of retail technology takes time (e.g., the barcode system took about a decade to take off and even the grocery shopping cart took about three years to really take off). With Amazon coming offline into the retail space with all of e-commerce’s successful use cases, I anticipate there will be a proliferation of adoptions the next two years.

This is an important element in maintaining brick-and-mortar’s relevance so retailers need to keep chipping away at it. The big challenges are around data integration and human capital. Identifying shoppers is one thing, having the data readily available to do something with your knowledge of identity is what is tying up most retailers. The stats in the last paragraph of the article show how far the industry has to go on this. Once the technology and data are in place, retailers should not forget that a significant training investment needs to be made to enable associates to act on the information in a way that creates value for the shopper and feels authentic and appropriate.

I think it is a combination of technology, shopper expectations, and ability to execute on the data. Shoppers know they are monitored as part of shrink management, they can be enticed to self identify with kiosks and coupons, but the problem remains, what can the retailer do in real time with the personnel on hand with that information? I have seen the demos a thousand times about the store manager greeting the customer if it is their birthday. I am sorry, unless it is a high-end boutique where where the basket size is large, what store has the execution capacity to do that? That’s the part of personalization that is so hard to do in the store, online it is easy because the cost of personalization is low, but in the store face to face, I haven’t figured out where you can execute with the personnel you have.

The biggest issue preventing retailers from deploying customer identification capabilities is not a lack of technology or shopper apprehension, it is probably a lack of understanding of what the best technologies are and how to integrate the new processes into their operations. There are many location-based services technology options and retailers want to make the right choice for their business and customers. And once they identify the best technology, they need to figure out how to integrate it with their current systems to tap into the appropriate customer and product information that will provide the insights to personalize the shopping experience. Mobile phones are the key to customer identification, as this a ubiquitous and unique identifier for consumers. The actual technology that retailers use may be different base on their unique situation, but it will likely involve the consumer’s mobile phone. Developing a strategy and roadmap for the customer identification process is the first step and we are seeing a lot of retailers just starting this process. The good news is that it is now… Read more »

This is less about shopper apprehension and technology as much as it is about execution of the technology and how shoppers perceive the output. Most people don’t blink when they visit an online retailer and get a personalized greeting with recommendations. (Admit it, we’ve all clicked on at least one of those when we visit Amazon!) So why do we believe shoppers cringe at the idea of being identified when they walk in the store? These are the same shoppers who want and crave personalization in their in-store experience. That won’t happen if they aren’t identified until checkout — the very end of their experience. The issue is with “how” they are identified. Yes, people feel shocked when their phone suddenly beeps and they see a greeting from the store they just walked in to. Why? Maybe because it’s a faceless entity (the store) greeting them via another faceless entity (their phone). I suspect that same shopper would not blink if an associate at a store they frequently shop at greeted them by name when… Read more »