What's new in the retail & transaction automation equipment market? That question was the focus of a webcast we hosted yesterday. If you missed it, don't worry, we recorded it.
To sum it all up: The recession accelerated the pace of change in an already tumultuous consumer economy. As a result, the pressure for retailers and other b-to-c operators increased exponentially. Apparel retailers working on out of stock issues suddenly needed to radically reduce inventory carry cost. Sporting goods retailers training 500 associates on merchandising, saw their trainee corps shrink by 30%, and the focus for those teams shift to customer greeting.
In an earlier time, these companies might have been able to make the transition without much fallout. Inventory reduction goals would be met with perhaps some marginal rise in out of stock. Promotions effectiveness might dip marginally, but, customer satisfaction levels might have risen at the same time.
Today, in 2010, retailers cannot afford to sacrifice one capability for another. They need to find a way to balance these competing requirements or risk continued revenue decline, margin compression, and share loss.
In order to make progress on one dimension, and not fall behind on another, retailers and b-to-c operators, need even smarter solutions from ever more agile retail technology and transaction automation suppliers.
To get more than just the summary, scroll through the slides.
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