Ruth Crowley, Vice President of Commodity and Brand Strategy at Hudson Group, will deliver an opening keynote at the Self-Service Innovation Summit in Hollywood, Florida from December 14th to 16th, providing her insights into the future. She outlined these insights in this Q&A interview.
The Hudson Nonstop store at Dallas Love Field Airport provides a seamless customer journey.
November 22, 2021 | by Elliot Maras — Editor of Kiosk Marketplace and Vending Times
Consumers are now spoiled. When dealing with today's buyers of goods and services, the convenience of real-time communication via social media pushes the standard to new heights. Retailers and brands that want to effectively attract them at touchpoints must make the customer journey easy.
The Hudson Group has recognized this and made it the core of its customer engagement strategy. Ruth Crowley, the retailer’s vice president of merchandise and brand strategy, will deliver an opening keynote at the Self-Service Innovation Summit in Hollywood, Florida from December 14th to 16th, describing what retailers and brands need to do in today’s environment Success.
In a recent interview with Kiosk Marketplace and Vending Times, Crowley outlined some of the issues she plans to solve next month. The following is an excerpt from that interview.
Q: What do you think is the biggest challenge facing retailers and brands today?
A. Effectively serve customers and meet their needs in the changing retail environment. As a retailer, we must be connected with target customers. The past year has made customers impatient-they can quickly access all content online, and if we do not provide a seamless and timely solution, they will opt out. In order to continue to gain loyalty, retailers need a clear mission and purposeful outreach activities to build lasting and sustainable relationships with customers.
From a broader industry perspective, the biggest challenge in the next 12 months is the supply chain, including procurement of materials and components, availability of production, access to imported containers, logistics, transportation and related costs.
Q: This year, Hudson introduced an automated multi-brand retail concept in its stores. How successful is this concept?
Answer: Our automated retail concept actually extends beyond our store and is closer to where passengers live at the airport. This provides 24/7 shopping access to specialty brands and essentials, and in some cases, allows us to offer brands where there are no independent specialty stores.
This is a thoughtful extension of service to airport customers and stakeholders. So far everything has gone smoothly-retail is always a learning journey. We are taking experience and applying it to future development and installation.
Q: What types of goods will lead to cashierless checkout, and will it be common in all types of goods?
A: I don't think a category can drive anything, because retail is multidimensional. I also believe that one size is not for everyone, because many customers like the traditional in-store experience with a cashier and still prefer to shop in that environment.
Retailers need to provide convenience during the customer journey, while also providing various checkout options to meet all customer needs.
With the increasing use of checkout methods via telephone, scanning and payment, mobile POS, QR codes, and other payment methods, technology will also drive changes in checkout options, rather than any product category.
Question: Does the concept solve the hygiene problem, and if so, how to solve it?
A. Today's travelers have higher and higher health and safety requirements. We have added cleaning procedures in all retail stores. In addition, the touch screen of our automated retail unit is sealed with an anti-microbial protective cover to reduce surface bacteria.
Q: Does the automated retail concept meet the needs of visually impaired consumers?
A. Our automated retail concept complies with ADA standards.
Q: Are there any surprises in the automated retail concept?
A. Some categories are more popular than others! Electronic products and accessories are strong sellers. We also recently introduced automated retail in Terminal 4 of JFK Airport and equipped it with a very well-performing Build-A-Bear device.
I would say that there are few real "surprises" because our methods are very thoughtful and we have gained a lot of valuable experience. In other words, the back-end planning and synchronization of elements such as user experience, classification, planograms, supply chain, fulfillment, technology, payment methods, daily maintenance, and replenishment need to be seamlessly connected, which is critical to success.
Q: How successful is Hudson's Just Walkout store (Hudson Nonstop)?
A. We are engaged in client business. In order to fully realize our potential as a leading travel experience company in North America, we must continue to enhance the diversity of retail solutions we provide to landlords and customers.
We now have two Hudson Nonstop stores using Amazon Just Walk Out technology-one at Dallas Love Field Airport and the other at Chicago Midway International Airport. Customers use a credit card to enter Hudson Nonstop, pick up their products and exit quickly-avoiding checkout queues. These shops are very popular with tourists and airports, and we have other locations in the pipeline.
We view contactless retail concepts such as Hudson Nonstop as tools to increase sales and enhance customer service because we can transform our sales staff from being primarily transaction-centric to more sales-centric.
Hudson will continue to be the "traveler's best friend", meeting the unique needs of different customer groups in different markets in the evolving world by predicting customer needs, using technology, and providing first-class merchandise and retail options.
Q: This automated retail store has been available for several years. Why does it not scale faster?
A. In the past 12-18 months, the growth rate of the retail industry has been affected by global events. In the final analysis, customers will promote what works best for them, and retailers will adapt to fulfill their brand promises and effectively achieve business goals-Hudson has successfully done this.
Q: What is the popularity of fully automated stores in the next few years?
A: We will continue to see more automation options and elements in physical, digital and online retail solutions to make shopping more convenient, more efficient, and more user-centric to drive the experience. "Experience" leads to an increase in sales and market share, so it is a key factor in our strategy.
Hudson will also continue to evaluate the proliferation of related technologies that can be used in our stores (including mobile phones, AI, VTO and other handheld devices) and online. A perfect example is our new Evolve store-in-shop concept, which offers traditional, self-checkout or mobile POS options.
In addition, we will interact with travelers before, during and after travel through new and existing channels to provide a seamless customer experience and ultimately drive sales. The integration of elements will blur the boundaries of retailers and create a 360-degree experience for customers.
Q: Facial recognition technology in the retail industry has caused controversy and has begun to become a political issue. Given these concerns, will this technology become part of the retail industry?
A. Most new technological developments will continue to play a role in the retail industry because they are an integral part of life. Customers can always "opt out", but everyone wants the choice and flexibility that best suits their lifestyle.
Q: How can retailers or brands that do not use automated retail prepare to introduce this technology?
A: I will reclassify a bit to talk about automation in the retail industry. Customers want convenience-technology and automation help support this. We’ve talked about “digital Darwinism” before—the pace of technological progress and innovation is faster than retailers’ ability to keep up. This means that all leaders must apply activities and investments that can specifically achieve their strategic priorities and meet their customer goals. They need to provide real experiences for their customers and their stakeholders to drive the best results.
Customer experience is different from customer service, and more important than ever, because customers have more choices and less patience. Customer experience is not an initiative, but a part of a strategic solution that helps differentiate retailers and businesses to achieve a sustainable future.
(Editor's note: To register for the summit, click here.)
Image courtesy of the Hudson Group.
Elliot Maras is the editor of Kiosk Marketplace and Vending Times. He brought three decades, covering unattended retail and commercial catering services.
Sign up for the Vending Times newsletter now to send headlines directly to your inbox.
Already a member? Log in below.
Login or register now
You can log in to this site using login credentials from any of the following Networld Media Group sites: