Mexico. Events such as El Buen Fin or the festivities promote interest in buying in the face of the opportunities of discounts and promotions that retail trade generates; it is only estimated that Mexicans will spend up to 5,000 pesos on average during El Buen Fin (1). Likewise, an economic spillover of 8,400 million pesos (mdp) is expected for the benefit of micro, small and medium enterprises, 5.0% more than in 2017.
But, as consumption increases, so does an unfortunate issue in retail: ant theft. During El Buen Fin and in the holiday season, the 'ant' theft in shopping centers suffers an increase of up to 50%; and if we add to this the long lines that the consumer has to do and the arduous battle that e-commerce also gives on those dates, the value of solutions such as video surveillance is even more highlighted.
Historically, video surveillance has been used for loss prevention; of course, that's a basic function that's still needed, as having full-coverage monitoring of a store is crucial. But what if a video surveillance solution could go beyond security and not only avoid losses, but also increase efficiency and ultimately increase efficiency and profitability? Today it is possible to use business intelligence to leverage the latest in data analytics.
Why are stores losing advantages over others?
There are several factors that cause retailers to lose customer traffic and in-store sales; for example, online shopping, lack of merchandise and poor customer service. Currently, retailers invest heavily in surveillance for loss prevention in an effort to protect their stores and assets. This can considerably reduce the losses resulting from theft, but the lack of consideration for the customer is still the most important thing. The secret to a successful store is in the customer experience. How can first-class customer service benefit the business? Why should a customer go to a store if they can shop online?
Shopping online is extremely convenient. Customers can browse in their free time and receive the products directly at their doorstep. By entering a store, the customer is sacrificing the benefits of shopping online; of course, there are disadvantages to online shopping that could make a store visit preferable. In a 2017 survey on the state of Retail by TimeTrade, 72% of shoppers said that what they like most about in-store shopping is that they have the ability to touch and feel products before they buy them. However, sometimes visiting a store can be a burden, especially when there are long wait times to make payments and poor customer service. As technology evolves, brick-and-mortar stores are losing their edge, and to survive they need to catch up with their online counterparts.
The customer needs a reason to choose to go to a store or to shop online, and that reason is the in-store experience. Most relationships in a store, even from a brand to the customer, are dictated by what the latter experiences within the walls of the store, which is something that is often under the control of the retailer.
The growth of e-commerce in Mexico was 28.3% in the period from 2016 to 2017, with a turnover of more than 17 billion dollars, being the forecast for this 2018 a significantly higher figure.
Today stores must find ways to adapt to customer preferences and improve their experience, simply by making shopping easier. This comes down to two things: fast service and a personalized in-store experience. Essentially, having the convenience and ease of shopping online while maintaining the benefits of an in-person experience are the most ideal conditions in a customer's purchases.
Retail intelligence from a single intelligent solution improves the customer experience, optimizes staff productivity, and increases in-store campaigns.
"In retail it is important to increase store security, efficiency and profitability; Axis Communications has the technology stores need to minimize losses, protect people and assets, and find opportunities to increase revenue and improve customer experiences in real time," said Francisco Ramirez, Country Manager for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean at Axis Communications. "With analytics-driven technology, retail can find opportunities to increase revenue and improve customer experiences in real time, eliminating inefficiencies and tailoring stores to every person who visits them."
Retail Intelligence
Technology can help monitors obtain information that can be used to their advantage; for example, when a person enters a store (which is relatively full) looking for shoes to complement their outfit for a wedding they will attend a few days later. On his way to the shoe section, he sees shelves with children's t-shirts for sale, when he sees this ad, he remembers that he needed to buy t-shirts for his son, so he decides to take some. Then, as she walks to the shoe section and is greeted by an employee, she immediately sees an advertisement in the background showing a pair of heels, reminding her of the shoes her friend bought for the wedding, she approaches a nearby employee and asks if she has those heels in her number, while you wait, enjoy the background music.
It's a reality that smart solutions can help stores accurately influence purchasing decisions. The ad did exactly what marketing is supposed to do: capture the attention of the intended audience.
Although the store didn't know that her friend had the same shoes, it did know that a woman is more likely to buy a pair of shoes than a man. Demographic analyses were able to estimate their overall age and since the person in the example is a woman, the digital screen changed from an advertisement aimed at men to an advertisement that displays specific information for a woman, within her age range, which influenced her purchase.
On the other hand, heat maps provide data indicating traffic hot spots within the store, which in the example above allowed the retailer to place items in specific places that ultimately attracted the visitor's attention, just like nearby employees in each section, the sales floor had the right staff to handle the number of customers who were in the store at the time, which allowed the visitor to receive immediate assistance from one of the employees. Music played throughout the store was selected to match customer demographics, which has an impact on the customer experience and ultimately sales.
At the end of the tour through the store, this person goes to the checkout area, when he approaches an open line, which already has four customers, additional staff arrives and opens another cash register; with this, the visitor completes her purchase and leaves the store with her shoes in her hand and a smile on her face.
The same technology that influenced the purchase of the previous example, also works to optimize other areas of the store to improve customer experiences... but what is the technology implemented that helped ensure that the example visit was quick and satisfactory?
Video surveillance: One solution, multiple purposes
- • People Counter: Live counts the number of people passing under the camera and in which direction.
- • Row Monitor: Tracks how many people are in a predefined area (for example, a row) and the activity level within that area. It also triggers real-time insertion alerts if the row is too long.
- • Demographic identifier: counts male and female visitors, and provides an estimate of age. It can also be used to trigger targeted advertising based on age/gender.
- • Occupancy Estimator: provides data on store occupancy such as average visit time and number of visitors, allowing for adequate levels of staff, also capable of sending alerts based on predefined occupancy parameters.
- • Network Audio Solutions: Provides background music in the store and allows live and scheduled ads.
- • Heat maps: allows quick identification of hot spots, dead areas and bottlenecks to visualize traffic patterns over time and live.
- • Digital advertising: allows marketing messages aimed at visitors according to age and gender when integrated, for example, with the corresponding analytics.
The individual components of this smart solution come together on one platform to improve the in-store customer experience. The fundamental statistics that most stores have, can provide information about current sales and transactions; however, they do not provide information on efficiencies and inefficiencies.
Visiting a store can be overwhelming and stressful, especially if you have poor customer service and long service lines, and more so in special seasons like El Buen Fin. To avoid this, stores should always consider customers' needs and preferences, as this makes it easier for customers to find the items they need, improving their in-store experience with friendly and knowledgeable staff, and decreasing overall customer service wait times.
"By gaining insights that allow them to be 'inside the customer's mind,' entrepreneurs can more easily adapt store designs to meet the needs of their consumers. To achieve this, today, video surveillance systems include additional functionalities such as video analytics that allow obtaining advanced applications that directly impact the performance of any business, "concluded Ramírez.
- 1 Credit Repairer Solve your Debt
- 2 Canacope Servytur Mexico City
- 3 Mexican Association of Private Security Companies (AMESP).
- 4 Internet.mx Association
