Stuart Dornfield

While retailers struggle with sluggish sales and consumers become less enamored with the in-store shopping experience, online shopping has become more mainstream. In fact, in a recent survey among 10,000 shoppers, customer satisfaction at retail stores is declining up to 15% a year. I’m not surprised. Are you?

Sure, online shopping gives buyers information they can’t get from a store associate. After all, how much can a sales associate know about the merchandise when he or she gets only one week of real training when they’re hired and employee turnover is the highest it’s ever been?

That said, stores acknowledge their roles are changing and they realize they have to change with them. For instance, in select JC Penney stores, shoppers will discover "FindMore" 52-inch touch screens that let them see the retailer's full range of merchandise. Great solution since you can hardly find a sales clerk to ask since they now have to cover four departments when they used to cover one. Plus, consumers can use the touch screens to email data about an item to themselves or a friend or scan a bar code to learn more about a product and get recommendations. Hopefully, JC Penney gives the customer a choice of English and Spanish.

On the grocery side, Stop & Shop Supermarket is testing handheld scanners that show shoppers personalized discounts as they walk down the aisles. The offers are based on such factors as shopping history and just-purchased items. The scanner also lets consumers place deli orders. Another great idea if it weren’t for the fact that most deli clerks are the slowest, most unhappy associates in the supermarket. It’s like Seinfeld used to say about rental car companies. They know how to take a reservation, they just don’t know how to keep it. Sure you can use your hand-held device to place your deli order, but will it get done by the time you’re ready to pick it up?

Among the other new technologies retailers are considering is giant touch screens replacing mannequins in windows so consumers can interact with the screen to select outfits for an avatar. I can just picture this outside Saks and Bloomingdales in New York City!

One of my favorite new prototypes are kiosks that allow a customer to chat with a virtual sales associate who can provide advice. I remember suggesting this same idea to Vitamin Shoppe in 2006 with a kiosk called Dr. Know that would allow customers to speak with a licensed nutritionist or pharmacist who can give them advice on supplements. The client killed the idea for legal reasons. Oh well, no vision.

Another device being tested is a mirror that enables a shopper to scan a dress and then project that clothing onto her body before going to the dressing room. Again, my client Swim ‘n Sport Shops talked about a similar technology back in the 1990’s that would scan a woman’s body and make swimsuit style recommendations based on her body type. Considering that swimsuits are a woman’s least favorite apparel to try on, it truly solved a consumer need. Of course today, the new technology would allow her to view different colors, find matching accessories and send the image to her Facebook profile.

Certainly, mobile devices will play a big role in these new technologies in the years ahead. Companies will be looking at ways to use mobile phones to provide shoppers with services and promotions on their smart phones -- from JD Powers and Consumer Reports reviews at car dealerships and electronics stores to recipes and coupons at supermarkets. Many will even be customized offers.

All these innovative retail technologies come at a time when merchants are realizing that their in-store experience needs to engage customers in new and compelling ways if they are to differentiate their stores and steal market share from their competitors. They realize that most purchase decisions are made at point of sale and they are actively looking for ways to close more sales.

The good news is that the cost to implement many of these new retail technologies is trending lower, allowing retailers a more affordable point of entry.