Two trade shows to consider:

1. Store 2013 trade show in June 4  and 5, 2013.

http://www.storeconference.ca/about

2.Grocery Innovations Canada 2013 – Sept. 30 and Oct 1, 2013

http://www.groceryinnovations.com/index.html

We tested the indoor positioning API today at the SUB at UBC. We have identified areas where the performance needs to be improved. The positioning system is likely to perform better in a retail store environment with shelves and other obstacles. Also identified a few ways in which we can tailor indoor positioning to the retail store environment.

We visited a London Drugs store in Richmond and spoke to the Mike, the Store Manager. I asked some general questions about how they advertise promotions, whether they have a mobile app and how the organization is structured.

Our take away:

1. London Drugs is a small retail chain consisting of 70 stores with a head office in Richmond.

2. They do not have a store-specific mobile applications.

3. No loyalty program.

4. It would be best to contact some one from Retail operations at the HO to discuss the product. Purchase decisions made at the head office.

5. He said that the product locator would be something the he would use.

We met with Fred, the Store Manager at Canadian Tire yesterday.

Lessons learnt:

He said that they attach a lot of importance to enabling shoppers to locate products. However he is not the decision maker. We have received contact numbers for the Head Office in Toronto.

Next steps: Speak to some one from the IT department at the head office.

We have tweaked our canvas a bit. Changes are highlighted in Green.

1. We have come to realize that delivering ads through the store map presents some unique advantages when the app is used with the store loyalty program. Stores such as SaveOn Foods collect customer shopping behavioral information through the loyalty program. Every time the shopper checks out using the loyalty card, a list of items purchased is recorded.

We can leverage the data to show how display of an ad on ZipThru leads to a buy. Perhaps, we could charge a premium for ads that lead to a purchase. We call this “ad performance data”.

2. Another value proposition for the shopper is product reviews. Product reviews can be collected from shoppers across stores and retail chains.

We would be happy to receive feedback regarding these changes.

1. Does the retail store currently have a mobile application?

2. Is there a loyalty program? How are promotions and coupons delivered electronically?

3. How does the store currently measure success of a product advertisement? Would they be interested in understanding the conversion rate better? i.e. how often does an ad lead to a sale?

3. What are their plans for network access in the store (Wi-Fi for shoppers)? What is the motivation for providing Wi-Fi access to shoppers?

4. Does the retail store have other technology initiatives planned that are targeted at giving them a competitive advantage in the grocery segment? What are they?

5. How will they improve the “customer experience”?

6. Is the retail store concerned about the difficulties that shoppers face in locating products in the store? How big an issue is it?

7. Would the store be interested in helping the customer reach a store attendant via the app, through a push button and/or chat screen?

8. How does the retail chain make a decision to adopt a new technology?

9. Would the store be interested in deploying a retail store navigation platform? How much would they be willing to pay per year?

10. Would the store allow limited network installations in the store? Are they comfortable sharing product information with a trusted third part vendor?

We have rearranged our action plan a bit.

1. We intend to prepare well for the meeting with Mike of Save-on-Foods on Feb 20th:

– Finalize the list of questions to know more about issues faced by retail stores and how our solution might fit in. We already have a long list suggested by our mentor, Mario.

– Prepare a demo using a limited product list

We would like to provide Mike the option of viewing a demo of a limited version of the product at a Save-on store close to his office. To this end, we have visited a Save-on store at Langley and collected data that would help us build a map. He would be able to view the location of a limited set of 10 products using the app. The demo will not show the location of the customer in the store – that feature would require more work, including RF fingerprinting. We have also decided to put the plan to demo at IKEA on hold for now.

2. Meet and interview decision makers at other retail stores. Targets are T&T Supermarkets, Memory Express. Superstore. Best Buy. I met with Jason, the store manager at Memory Express today to follow up on the possible meeting with the owners. He will be contacting the owners to try to arrange a meeting. According to him, they would like to know how much the system would cost. They also have reservations regarding possible impacts that such a system might have on personalized services by sales representatives.

Meanwhile, the Director of IT at Safeway got back to me saying that they are currently working on a solution with similar functionality and are therefore not keen on discussing the idea with us.

3. The API will be tested to validate the accuracy. Site survey is now complete.

4. Understand customer workflow and purchase decision making process at each of the retail stores.

5. Reach out to a few product vendors and advertising agencies. The Branding and Advertising event on Feb 20th should help us in this effort. Thanks to Brad Wheeler of the UILO who informed us of the event.