04 EDITOR’SCOMMENT
RETAILTECHNOLOGY
Editor Miya Knights e:
mknights@bpl-business.com t: 07810 648 706
Publisher Clare Sturzaker e:
csturzaker@bpl-business.com t: 01342 717459
Consultant Editor Chris Field e: cfi
eld@retailtechnology.co.uk t: 01435 873 377
Sales Lynn Neil e:
lneil@bpl-business.com t: 0208 123 5040
Chairman Chris Boeree e:
cboeree@bpl-business.com
Design Whitewater GFX e:
admin@whitewatergfx.co.uk t: 08452 998596
Circulation & Subscriptions e:
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New Year, new retailing challenges
A
fter a challenging 2010, most retailers will be hoping that this year brings better fortunes. The general consensus that the key
Christmas and January sales trading periods were fl at at best compared to 2009 levels in response to the worst weather on record, despite continued e-commerce growth, will probably not bode well for many. Especially when there has also been no real sign of a rush to beat the January 2011 rise in Value Added Tax (VAT) from 17.5% to 20%. And yet, as in the case of technology, signs of
growth are still slowly continuing to return to the industry, with a particular emphasis on customer- facing systems that can improve service propositions in increasingly competitive markets. The news that ASOS recently launched Europe’s fi rst transactional Facebook store (page 11) demonstrates how technology is enabling retailers to target markets beyond traditional geographic boundaries. And the continued advancements in payments systems that speed transactional throughput at the checkout will see McDonalds complete a contactless chip and PIN roll out this summer (page 06).
Whether technology is used to streamline
existing business processes or support ventures into new models, channels or regions, all the indicators suggest that retailers know that sitting still will not deliver growth. So it is in this spirit, following a redesign two whole years ago now, that Retail Technology is also expanding, looking to include retailers outside of the UK. With a particular added focus on Europe, the magazine and website will be able to follow wider retail industry trends and better understand their impact on the multichannel retailer who knows no geographic boundaries. As part of Retail Technology’s expanded regional
focus, it will re-launch as one of the media sponsors exhibiting at EuroShop, the world’s largest retail capital goods trade fair, taking place in Düsseldorf, from 26 February to 2 March 2011 (page 09). While the March/April 2011 issue will feature a comprehensive review of the show, this month also includes our fi rst new, regular page of European news.
Retail Technology is also a media partner of the
Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulations 6,641 Jan 09 – Dec 09
ISSN No 1359-0146
UK’s latest retail IT event, Retail Business Technology Expo. So you can come and visit us from 16 to 17 March 2011 at London’s Earls Court, if you can’t get to Germany. But the busy time ahead for technology industry events, indicating increased interest in hands-on technology demonstrations, discussions and networking, bodes well for renewed appetite for investment. I rather glossed over the other bright spot of success that is online retailing earlier. But the fact that, according to e-commerce trade body IMRG, a total
of £58.8 billion was spent online in 2010, cements this channel as the only one in retail still capable of sustaining double-digit growth of 18% (compared to the previous year). So our annual multichannel feature (page 11) is packed full of examples of technology investments that can have deliver positive return on investment in this fast-moving sector. Without getting carried away with all of the
newest, ‘shiny’ technologies at a retailer’s disposal to grow sales, we should not forget the roles of increased automation, collaboration and productivity played by core technologies like workforce management (WFM) systems. Today’s multichannel retailer has to perform a delicate balancing act in optimally managing the less manually intensive parts of its business like online, with those areas that are so key to maintaining customer service, from the warehouse to instore and the call centre. So our annual WFM feature (page 27) includes a number of implementation examples that showcase how the latest technologies in this area are helping retailers reduce costs and generate effi ciencies from their most important asset.
In what is shaping up to a demanding year for
retailers, but one where rich rewards will be on offer to those who successfully maintain an equilibrium between technology transformation and innovation and business model and process change, we look to the future with our annual Horizons supplement (page 15). This feature gives retail IT suppliers like Iconnyx and NCR a chance to set out their stall and examine retail technology requirements for the coming year. Moreover, it indicates that retail technologists will continue to seek to deliver greater levels of automation, integration, effi ciency, personalisation and control for their businesses to overcome the challenging times ahead.
Miya Knights Editor
mknights@bpl-business.com
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