Benefits of PayWave Technology for Supermarkets
Question:
Discuss about the IT Management Issues for PayWave Technology.
Technology has revolutionized the way we live! It has a major impact on how we shop. Few years ago, technology was used in point-of-sale terminals through smartphone devices and cards. These technological changes are accepted by customers across the globe (Tschirley, 2007). However, the demand for something better and efficient is significantly high! Though technology has creeped into supermarkets, it is quite difficult to control crowds. Supermarkets are looking for better strategies that can help them manage crowds. This is where technologies like “PayWave” come into the picture. This is a sophisticated technology that helps supermarkets get rid of cash and work quickly.
By definition, PayWave technology is a quick and an effective replacement for cash (Financial Ombudsman Service, n.d.). Supermarkets can eliminate cash from their billing cycle. In fact, customers don’t have to carry cash around. They can choose and buy products based on their PayWave balance. This technology depends on modern shopping gears (Leong et al., 2013). For example, special RFID readers must be installed in the customer trolleys. These readers should be able to detect products, its prices and quantity. The RFID reader must work in real-time. That means, it should be able to detect all items that are kept and removed from the trolley.
There are so many benefits in using the PayWave Technology.Supermarkets like Oz can speed-up the entire process (Financial Ombudsman Service, n.d.). This is a smart way of getting rid of queues especially at the checkpoints. That is because everything in the customer trolleys would be evaluated automatically. The customer doesn’t have to wait in long billing queues. As they reach the entrance or exit of the supermarket, their items would be billed. All that the customer should do is, walk out of the store. This means the entire billing cycle has been eradicated. Customers with kids and elders will definitely benefit from this change. They are no longer expected to wait in long queues! They will not be tired and they can focus on better things (Leong et al., 2013).
PayWave Technology gives customers better financial security. They will be able to shop within their financial limits. As mentioned previously, the items are evaluated on the go. As a customer chooses and loads their trolleys with goods, the final amount would be calculated. If a customer is running out of cash, they will receive an alarm. This alarm will help them transfer cash or remove items from the trolley. If you don’t have a PayWave account, you don’t have to worry about anything! Oz Supermarket has a front desk to help you with temporary cash deposits. With temporary cash deposits, you will receive a PayWave Card. Just like the standard PayWave Card, the temporary one can calculate the value of your purchase. If you have paid an extra amount at the front desk, it will be returned to you or recorded. All details of PayWave customers and their balances are stored in the cloud. This means, you can reuse your card anywhere that supports the PayWave technology. In case your temporary card runs out of cash, you will receive an alarm while shopping. This is where you feed more cash into the card.
Improving Customer Service with Technological Solutions
A lot of technologists believe that PayWave Technology is an expensive investment for any supermarket. Well, Oz Supermarket should invest a considerable amount of money on RFID chips and PayWave cards (Lin et al., 2006). According to supermarket owners, these costs are negligible in front of busy customers. With quick checkout services, customers are more likely to visit their store. This would increase their turnaround and annual return on investment. Above all, RFID chips can be treated as one time investments. With more profits, Oz Supermarket is only likely to expand and make more money. That is why, PayWave Technology cannot be an overhead for the supermarket. On the other hand, customers will have more control over their shopping routines. People with quick shopping skills don’t have to be stuck behind the slow ones. Quick shoppers can finish their tasks and reach home/office quickly. And, people with tight budgets don’t have to wait till the final bill is generated. This technology saves customers from making decisions in front of huge crowds. A study in local UK supermarkets revealed that customers feel annoyed and frustrated with customers at the top of queue return products or make decisions! With PayWave Technology, you will not be subject to such instances.
A lot of customers benefit from the summary generated by PayWave. The summary gives a comprehensive insight of all products in the customer’s trolley (Leong et al., 2013). This is a detailed summary that describes the product, quantity and price. With this summary, customers can decide if a product is purchased incorrectly, is of the right quality and if it surpasses their budget. Also, customers can print this summary and take it home! The summary stations are located strategically. They are present throughout the store. That means, customers don’t have to search or wait at a specific point for summaries. This is another way of reducing or getting rid of crowd.
Another place where customers spend lots of time in a supermarket would be the parking lot! On an average, customers spend between 5 to 15 minutes in the store’s car parking spaces. In order to cut down the amount of time a customer spends at the parking space, Oz supermarket should charge a fee. The fee can be customized to suit different times of the day. During non-peak periods, Oz supermarket should opt for lower parking rates. And, during peak hours, the car parking rate should be timed on a minute basis. Meanwhile, disabled people should receive free parking. This is a way of preventing disabled people from spending too many minutes in the store’s car parks.
Cisco Voice over IP Technology
On the whole, PayWave Technology and few other store improvement plans will make Oz Supermarket quick and customer friendly. These are services that can attract more customers to the supermarket. However, customers should be educated of the changes and assisted in every possible way. Apart from this time consuming task, there are no drawbacks in adopting to the above mentioned technological changes.
Supermarkets like the Oz depend on customer support. Research claims that supermarket shopping is a type of self-service environment. For retailers like the Oz supermarket to be successful, they must build a strong relationship with all their potential and existing clients. They must track their customer levels of satisfaction. This is an important parameter that can help in minimizing dissatisfaction and complaints. It would help the supermarket come up with an effective service recovery strategy too. In this section, three different technologies are suggested to improve customer service.
In this modern era, supermarket chains like the Oz have relied on networking technologies to enhance customer relationship and build business throughout its stores. Oz supermarket can make use of Cisco’s voice over IP technology (Wallace, 2006). This is an innovation that can result in the following improvements. Sales associates at Oz supermarket will be able to engage in more face to face discussions with customers. If a customer requires information about products or services, the queries can be managed in real-time. Voice of IP technologies can save the money lost on analog based key systems. This networking solution can connect all stores and ensure a considerable amount of reliability and consistency. Customers will have a similar experience in all the stores. Meanwhile, the company can gather more information on customer queries and call center operations. This check would help the employees offer better phone prompts and greeting services to customers. Cisco Voice over IP technologies have a direct impact on employee productivity. Employees will have more time to focus on customer experiences. Sooner, customers at Oz supermarket will have the finest services around.
Self-checkout solutions are on the rise. However, there are very few solutions to obtain customer feedbacks. Most customers wish to give feedback on their supermarket experiences. With the introduction of PayWave Technologies, supermarkets need real time feedbacks. This is where self-feedback solutions come into the picture. This is an effective way of sharing customer opinions. Customers who value comfort and privacy are bound to use these self-feedback systems. The self-feedback system would be placed at the exit and entrance of the Oz supermarket. As the customer enters or leaves the store, they can place feedbacks. These channels are different from the conventional checkout units. That means, normal customers who don’t want to give feedbacks can walk away from the other channels. Using the self-feedback system, customers can give reviews on goods. They can talk about the assistance offered by employees at the supermarket. Meanwhile, the feedback system can be used to discuss about their concerns or positives about PayWave technology. From the supermarket’s point of view, the self-feedback system would be a direct interaction with customers and their thoughts (Lin et al., 2006). Supermarkets will be able to gather feedback from numerous customers. They don’t have to invest time or money on questionnaires/surveys. Indeed, the self-feedback system is a smart way of gathering information from customers. However, customers should be advised to use the system. Using the self-feedback system is not an issue because there are guided instructions, voice prompts and screen animations to help them through. On special days, a customer satisfaction survey can be designed on the feedback systems. These feedbacks give a firm benchmark.
Self-checkout Solutions and Self-feedback System
All customers look for customized experiences. They become bored and annoyed in homogenous environments. That is why the Oz supermarket should give customers a customized experience. The supermarket can invest on trolleys that greet customers and help them with suggestions. Customers should be allowed to keep track of a checklist. This checklist must help them buy everything and not forget anything. A common problem faced by many customers would be missing things. With the help of customizable trolleys and customer checklist facilities, this problem can be resolved. Likewise, Oz Supermarket can use the Beacon Technology to keep customers engaged (Silverman, 2014). With Beacon Technology, customers will be able to browse the aisles. This technology helps customers see all items in a particular row. For example, customers can check on the availability of certain products in each row. This is an interesting technology that saves lots of time for customers.
Oz Supermarket should invest on a customer relationship management software. This software has to be installed in the supermarket (McFarlane, et al., 2003). There are several different types of CRM solutions in the market. This includes expensive enterprise-level solutions like InfusionSoft and affordable ones like “Contactually”. Based on the store’s current budget, the right kind of solution should be bought. With CRM solutions, customer experiences can be managed. These solutions don’t stop with customer data. Here is a simple example of how Oz Supermarket can use a CRM solution:
If an elderly shopper has not visited the store recently, the CRM would generate an alert. The alert would help the supermarket chain reach out to their regular customer. The customer can come up with various responses. If the elderly customer is not feeling well, you can surprise them with a gift. If the elderly customer is shopping somewhere else, you can give him/her a coupon that is valid for a week. The gift/coupon will improve the bond between your supermarket and the customer. Sooner, the customer is likely to return to your store.
CRM solutions are very useful in understanding customer responses and patterns. It is a smart way of monitoring the supermarket.
The above mentioned solutions can improve customer experiences and the supermarket’s services. These changes will generate positive results in the long run. The initial cost to implement these changes will be high. However, the supermarket will be able to experience a better return on investment too. When implemented correctly, more customers will be attracted towards the store. This way, the store’s overall customer base can be improved. And, news about the supermarket would spread by word of mouth. This is one of the best ways to advertise the supermarket.
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Financial Ombudsman Service (n.d.). Fact Sheet PayPass and payWave cards. Retrieved from
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