Application news


Grocery shopping post- COVID


The powerful combination of technology and customer data could enable eCommerce giants like Amazon to outperform the Big Four supermarkets. The Big Four supermarkets (Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrison’s) are having to further enhance their customer expe- rience (CX) and delivery capabilities in response to increased de- mand for eGrocery services and to prevent Amazon taking further market share. This is according to Ciaran Bollard, CEO of Kooomo, the global eCommerce platform, who reveals what this could mean for high-street supermarkets and the implications for local grocers.


The eGrocery sector has been severely impacted by supply chain disruption and gov- ernment


safety restrictions,


with increasing pressure on retailers and suppliers caus- ing problems for consumers looking to purchase online. If Amazon is able to minimise delays and overcome these pain points before the com- petition, its existing custom- ers may choose to use it for grocery shopping which could result in complete dominance of the sector.


Ciaran said: “The battle for eGrocery supremacy will be determined by two simple words, ‘customer experience’, as the majority of consumers simply desire the most con- venient and safest way to do their weekly shop. Technol- ogy implementation will be a clear decider on who will win and Amazon is very good at enticing people into their ever-expanding ecosystem thanks to its sophisticated analysis of customer data.” He continued: “Traditionally high street supermarkets and local grocers have prioritised serving a local community of customers face-to-face over their online store and delivery


capabilities. In the reality of a post-COVID world, the only way to secure long term success will be through increased invest- ment in sophisticated eCom- merce technologies and inte- grated supply chain solutions.” “The pandemic has exposed some of the most prevalent eCommerce pain points with- in the industry but a giant like Amazon will have all the technological capabilities to prevail. When combined with a huge existing consumer base, this certainly makes it a con- tender to outperform the Big Four in the long-term.” High-street retailers have been dealing with the challenges of coronavirus by doing everything they can to entice custom- ers back in-store and prevent Amazon winning the battle for Christmas and the golden quar- ter. For example Marks & Spen- cer recently teamed up with Ocado to leverage its advanced supply chain technologies and there is a growing number of customers choosing to support their local grocers as Amazon may not have the specialisms or customer familiarities of a local grocer.


Ciaran explained: “Supermar- kets and local grocers will be


New restaurant experience enhanced


Phil’s BBQ is a fast, casual, sports themed restaurant chain that has become a household name in the San Diego area. Their unique pro- cess for barbecue creates meat that’s moist and falls off the bone. Patrons will wait for hours, with lines out the door just to get a taste of Phil’s barbecue and take in its sports experience.


Phil’s BBQ started as a single, small restaurant in the San Di- ego area with excellent food. As it surged in popularity, own- er Phil Pace decided to close the original location to open a larger restaurant with greater capacity. Moving to a new loca- tion also presented the oppor- tunity to invest in digital sig- nage to bring the sports aspect of the restaurant to life. Phil’s BBQ turned to Fluid Sound, a local AV installer, to provide the backbone in what would become a key compo- nent of the restaurant’s ambi- ance.


The results were phenomenal. The Phil’s BBQ experience be- came akin to a raging tailgate party with friends. The grills were located right behind the counter where diners could see them, the smell of smoky food filled the air, and the high-en- ergy feeling was fuelled by an array of large format displays from NEC Display with sports feeds of every type imaginable.


After opening several ad- ditional locations with Fluid Sound’s Support, the chain’s COO, Kevin Sheehan, came up with a novel idea. What if the next location Phil’s featured a jumbotron, just like in a real stadium? Fluid Sound jumped at the opportunity and set out to design a solution that would bring the stadium aesthetic to life.


Installation Fluid Sound already had


a


strong foundation to build on for Phil’s BBQ’s next location. Digital signage played a huge role in previous locations, pro- viding not only sports content, but also dynamic menu boards, and displays indicating how much longer customers could expect to wait before getting their hands on some delicious barbecue.


Fluid Sound knew exactly who


they wanted to work with, be- cause it’s the same manufac-


P12 AV News October 2020


turer they worked for the previ- ous restaurants – NEC Display. “The NEC displays look great right out of the box,” said Den- nis Pappenfus, CEO of Fluid Sound. “We did some very ba- sic colour correction once the units were installed, but that was all that was needed.” Other than looking great out of the box, the NEC large format displays brought other benefits as well. The density of digital signage and the nature of hav- ing multiple games on at once meant that Fluid Sound needed to manage content from dozens of different sources.


The stadium experience


NEC large format displays cre- ate total immersion and the ultimate sports


restaurant by


combining elements of big sta- dium and the tailgating experi- ences with excellent barbecue. Wall-to-wall sports content ap- peas;s the sports lovers in all of us, complete with a Jumbotron centrepiece.


Phil’s BBQ has The solution


• C431 43 inch thin-depth commercial display, with failover capabilities and enough brightness to be seen from anywhere


• C651Q 65-inch industrial grade 4K UHD commercial


displays, with myriad options for connectivity


• C861 86-inch ultra-high definition display, providing a massive, central focal point for sports content


• E557Q 55-inch 4K UHD display with integrated ATSC/ NTSC Tuners and integrated 10 W speakers


NEC’s control API. This creat- ed a robust solution where the control network was separate from the video distribution net- work, eliminating the risk of network saturation. As an extra level of reliability, any issues that would potentially arise in one network would be isolated from the other.


The installations’ crown jew- el, the jumbotron, required some additional design work, including a custom mounting solution. Fluid Sound worked with RP Visual Solutions for the mount and frame that would


work with partners to provide this level of technical data, but NEC was eager to put Fluid Sound in touch with the appro- priate contact to provide the needed files.


The result is wall-to-wall cov- erage along the inside of the restaurant. The bar area in par- ticular has such a density of digital signage that it has been compared to a sports book in Las Vegas, including an LED score ticker to help fans keep track of multiple games. Phil’s newest location in Te- mecula, California is the first


rience. The addition of the Jumbotron


was so impressive and well re- ceived that it is a planned fea- ture for all future Phil’s BBQ locations. The reliability of the overall system, including the NEC display units and the con- tent delivery system, ensures that Phil’s BBQ staff can spend their time cooking delicious barbeque instead of maintain- ing the displays. Phil’s patrons come from all around the area to get a taste of the restaurant’s delicious signature dishes and take in the sports experience.


able to compete with Amazon if they can remain competi- tive on price and ensure fast delivery


alongside a great


online customer experience. Success can be achieved through the implementation of eCommerce platforms and innovations such as Pick and Pack apps to meet increased demand. Although they may not have the huge custom- er base of Amazon, smaller eGrocery retailers may be able to provide a more local- ised eGrocery experience for customers within their com- munity.”


He concluded: “eCommerce managers working in the eGrocery industry must now figure out how to improve their offerings so they can offer a unified and satisfy- ing omnichannel experience, both from an internal opera- tions and customer perspec- tive. If they can meet this increased demand and entice local customers through tar- geted offers and promotions, they will be able to compete against Amazon and the Big Four in this fast-growing and highly competitive market.”


become the go-to game day destination. Fortunately, the C series displays provided Ether- net connectivity for IP control. This was essential for easy set- up and for reliability. With Fluid Sound’s “AV over IP” design, the video content signal utilized the existing Eth- ernet network to transmit the HDMI video, while the control signal was sent via a separate VLAN and was managed by


contain and hold the jumbotron up. Here, NEC Display provided another invaluable advantage over the competition.


In order to design the jum- botron with RP Visual Solu- tions, Fluid Sound needed ac- cess to NEC Display’s product design specifications. NEC provided easy access to CAD renderings of


its products. Not all manufac- turers are as willing as NEC to


restaurant with the jumbotron feature. It opened just in time for the Fourth of July weekend to a crowd of excited sports and barbecue fans. The Jumbotron is easily the location’s most eye-catching feature. Sitting in its custom mounting solu- tion above the dining area, it is visible from almost any an- gle inside the restaurant and enhances the sense of being immersed in the sports expe-


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