Reducing time wasted
It may not seem like much, but think about it. You’ve likely been grocery shopping before. After you’ve picked everything out you go looking for what will likely be the quickest cash register. Do you know your average time once there? Four minutes!
Four minutes is a whole lot of time to be standing around doing nothing, and stores know this. The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) is the first to begin implementing what could be the norm at grocery chains someday: infrared cameras. They’re already in more than 95% of the company’s 2,400 stores nationwide, and they’re working.
What infrared cameras do
QueVision keeps track of the amount of customers in a store. With this information, store managers will be better able to make sure that the correct amount of checkout lanes are open, and that backlogs don’t arise at the checkout.
If you want a rundown and don’t mind sitting through an absolutely awful video, YouTube has you covered (video link).
What’s the big idea?
Technology can help any business with its processes, even a grocery store. Infrared cameras combined with the predictive software that The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) has in place may not directly add to the bottom line, but they will help over time.
It’s all about providing the customer with a better experience that keeps him or her coming back time and time again. If you keep customers coming in the door, it definitely adds to the bottom line.
Using the system, The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) has already discovered that many people flock to the stores at lunch to pick up something to eat. These people were waiting longer than they should have been. Kroger changed that with its all-new Express Lanes in popular stores.
Anyone else playing with technology?
You had to expect that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) would be toying with this technology, and it is. Along with the news of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)’s new Infrared system yesterday came word of an app from Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT). The app allows customers to track their spending in the store before making it to checkout.
Using the app will help shoppers stay within their budgets. Once again, this isn’t something that’s going to add to the bottom line. It is, however, something that customers enjoy, get used to, and keep going back to Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) to use.
Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) is not playing along in the technology game as much as these other two, but it is treading in the deep end of data and analytics. This Forbes article from last year shows you just how much Target knows about their customers. The New York Times has also produced an article with Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) front and center.
Investing
While Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) may not be investing as heavily into the technology that Kroger and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) are, I believe that its time will come. For now, data and analytics are big business. Target is able to better Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) (sorry) its customers and get them into the stores.
