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Should smartphones, tablets or walkie-talkies be the selling floor tech tool?

Written by Tom Ryan

Photo: RetailWire

With a few reports showing more people bought goods via smartphones than tablets for the first time last year, tablets appear to be losing ground as a purchasing tool. But one place tablets appears to have found a purpose is with associates on the selling floor. According to a survey of 195 retailers from "State of Online Retailing 2016: Key Metrics, Business Objectives and Mobile" from Forrester and the National Retail Federation (NRF), a quarter of stores have associates who use tablets provided by the company. Another four percent allow employee-owned tablets to be used on the selling floor. Tablets continue to benefit from their ample screen. According to the survey, the biggest use for mobile devices by associates were to:
  • Show additional products not in stores, 44 percent;
  • Send e-receipts, 40 percent;
  • Ring up purchases, 40 percent;
  • Show product features and functions, 35 percent;
  • Order an out-of-stock item, 33 percent;
  • Check inventory in warehouses, 23 percent; and
  • Check inventory in stores, 21 percent.
Despite a smaller screen, six percent of associates use smartphones supplied by the retailer and four percent use associate-owned smartphones on the selling floor. Still, 64 percent of retailers don't use any kind of mobile device to assist customers in stores. The survey did not explore non-mobile tech gadgets used by associates, with the most common being walkie-talkies. The big benefit to walkie-talkies is enabling communication — hands-free, if necessary — among associates. Like mobile, walkie-talkies can also be used to check for inventory. Without a screen, of course, associates are unable to view additional products, get information on product features or check a customer out. A newer and smaller wearable communication tool from Theatro, profiled in Stores Magazine, features one-on-one communication, stock checks by voice command, and GPS-capabilities to find associates in the store.

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