Technology is the Foodservice Industries Achilles Heel

Playing catch-up is a dangerous game according to Tacoma, WA based global retail foodservice consultancy Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson.   When technology giant Amazon announced it plans for Amazon Go (a checkout free, ultra-convenient shopping experience powered through a free-to-use mobile app and Amazon Prime membership) grocery stores, C-stores, and Dollar stores were taken aback. 

Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson stated in earlier this year that Mobile Augmented-Reality Save Full Service Restaurants for those willing to move forward with consumers. Regular readers of this blog called or Emailed asking why are they doing that already?  There are other retail innovations could help retailers to stay one step ahead of the game, according to Neil Gowing, EMEA managing director at Trax.  Let’s look at what He thinks:

Whilst still in its infancy, such a disruptive concept is set to change the game for convenience store retailers as Amazon Prime members (of which there are estimated to be up to 80 million globally) and other shoppers will undoubtedly flock to these stores for a speedier and more convenient shopping trip, if not just for the sheer novelty.

However, new technologies are proving equally disruptive and are giving traditional convenience stores the tools with which to compete against new players. According to the 2017 World Economic Forum Report ‘Shaping the Future of Retail for Consumer Industries’, eight new technologies are expected to change the face of the retail landscape. Of these eight, the internet of things, artificial intelligence and robotics are expected to reach “full readiness” within 2-5 years.

Image recognition has already been adopted by big brands and the convenience sector is starting to follow suit. This kind of technology works by capturing images of in-store shelves and uses Artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse them. This can provide a convenience store with a wealth of highly useful data, which can drive category growth in stores through promotion and planogram compliance and reduction in out of shelf/stock. This technology is being used by sales and merchandising staff to provide highly accurate shelf insights, and as an alternative to manual store audits that can be costly, time consuming and prone to human error.

Internet of things (IoT) technologies are also beginning to provide important real-time data for in-store execution. An example of their use can be seen in fridges where IoT cameras, discretely placed behind fridge handles to face the contents, take an image every time a customer opens or closes the door. The images are then automatically uploaded and analyzed to provide real-time data on product spacing and availability, and can alert staff when certain products are out of stock. These technologies can also alert staff when a particular brand is being stocked too often and doesn’t comply with the agreed planogram.

Similarly, robotics will play a crucial role in capturing data across stores. They can be used either once a day for a full sweep of the store between 3-6am, or in between peak times to ensure maximum availability and compliance during the busiest hours of the store. Cameras, fixed on top of mobile robotics platforms taking a full sweep of a store at intervals, can provide constant data about shelf space, product placing and pricing data. This frees up sales staff to make corrections to pricing or spacing and improve product placement, which in turn will improve the customer experience.

So now let me ask you are you waiting and watching to see who will be the next industry leader? What are you testing?  Are you moving with your consumers or monitoring your consumers and customer count decline?

Do your marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may the clue you need to propel your continued success. 

Technology Too Fuel Fast Food in 2017

McDonald’s and Starbucks continue to cultivate customer relevance leveraging technology in both the front and back of the house operations.  However in 2017 both will elevate the consumer focus with voice recognition ordering. That’s right can you HEAR ME Now.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella revealed at a conference this summer that the development is already underway.  That being collaboration between Microsoft and McDonald’s. Nadella explained that the development would allow  customers’ spoken orders to be turned into text and relay the info directly to the kitchen, shaving time off the process and eliminating the possibility of the customer and an employee mishearing one another,

Now Starbucks said it will update its smartphone app next year to include voice recognition ordering, a capability some are predicting will be a major focus of restaurants in 2017.  The coffee chain indicated that the capability will be extended to some iPhone users early next year, with the availability broadened as the year progresses.  So if you skipped FSTEC last year you had better think about attending next year.

McDonald’s reported that it plans add voice recognition, with the intention of adding the capability at drive-thru’s. Starbucks' new system, called My Starbucks Barista, will enable customers to speak their orders into a smartphone loaded with the chain’s popular app. The order will be relayed to the store designated by the customer, and the charge will automatically be added to the patron’s account.

Now once again in case you had not seen this or heard several restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area are participating in the test of a Google-supported system that combines voice and face recognition. Customers say, “I’ll pay with Google,” setting in motion a visual confirmation that the customer is who he or she says they are. The account is charged, completing the transaction. Now here is the link to FSTEC. 

Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® recommends very few conferences however FSTEC is one that you should put in your 2017 budget and plan on attending. 

www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  is the global leader in grocerant niche business development.  We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities.  Has your company had a Grocerant ScoreCard completed?  Want one?  Call 253-759-7869 Email: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us