Self-service retail, which encompasses micro markets to vending machines, is thriving in high-traffic locations including college campuses, airports and office buildings.
Yet there are challenges and pain points when it comes to ensuring the technology will reap rewards. A high-traffic location is a perfect setting but it doesn't automatically deliver profits.
What's required for a profitable operation is a clear strategy that includes everything from understanding the marketplace in relation to product, knowing the consumer base traversing the high-traffic location and crafting successful marketing strategies.
Insight on all those aspects, as well as tactics needed to drive growth, is the focus of an upcoming panel talk, "Self-Service Retail: A Profitable Path to Growth in High-Traffic Locations," at the Self-Service Innovation Summitbeing hosted by Networld Media Group Dec. 9-11 in Tampa, Florida. Registration continues through Dec. 6.
The summit brings together B2C brands to learn from industry leaders, network among peers and hear from top innovators when it comes to self-service technology. Networld Media Group is a leading business-to-business media communications company specializing in digital media, associations and events in the mobile, self-service, digital signage, retail, food service and financial services industries.
Expert advice
While high-traffic locations are valuable, high-traffic alone doesn't deliver success, according to SSIS panelist Sassan Rahimzadeh, president of Arya Cleaners, based in San Diego. Arya is a dry cleaning business with seven locations, including two 24/7 kiosks that provide dry cleaning and laundry services.
Rahimzadeh, as noted by CoolCalifornia.org, set out to build a technologically advanced and environmentally sustainable dry cleaning service operation that provides state-of-the-art service.
"What type of traffic is more important than just sheer numbers," Rahimzadeh told RetailCustomerExperience.com in an email interview.
A big question needing an answer before self-service tech deployment is whether the audience traffic is interested in your product or service.
"If you're not sure, study it, before investing in infrastructure and platform," said Rahimzadeh.
He also advised retailers and brands to not only know the product market but study it as often as possible as well. Then create the product the consumer wants.
"Definitely not the other way around. Creating what would be considered the perfect product but for the wrong market, is a kiss of death," he said.
Knowing the unknowns
As with any tech deployment it's what a retailer doesn't know that can drive failure.
When it comes to self-service retail the unknowns that need to be known are how, when and where should a retailer augment automation with human interaction.
"At which point should a human attendant take over any transaction? Obviously, the absolute goal is full automation to a point where a human interaction is not required at all, or better yet, not even preferred over automation," said Rahimzadeh, adding that without a very well thought out UI/UX and implementation of the design, retailers always taking a risk.
The value of marketing
A key aspect to successful self-service retail is ensuring the high traffic of consumers know the self-service opportunity is available.
That means crafting a marketing strategy and a pitch to the consumer so they will buy in.
"Any effective marketing is centered around creating trust," said Rahimzadeh. "The best marketing always creates trust between consumers and product. To get things off the ground sometimes you may in fact have to resort to the live human resource to be able to create that trust between consumer and machine."
Learn more insight from the panel talk by attending as registration is open through Dec. 6.