Don’t miss these companies at Retail Business Technology Expo (RBTE) 2018

RTIH brings you 10 must see exhibitors at RBTE 2018, which is set to take place in London from 2nd to 3rd May

Innovation, as Matt Bradley, Show Director, RBTE, puts it, “is critical to the success of modern multi-channel retailing – it’s where competitive advantage can be won or lost…RBTE is the go-to event for organisations looking for the right tools, solutions, innovations and advice on how to best run their retail businesses.”

With that in mind, here are 10 exhibiting companies that should be on the radar of forward thinking retailers…

StoreForce

StoreForce will be demonstrating how its SaaS platform, WFM+, enables retailers to recover 10% of sales currently lost due to suboptimal staff hours allocation, with no increase in labour costs.

Chris Noble, Director at StoreForce, explains that the venture was set up by retailers for retailers who found that the existing workforce management solutions simply couldn’t deliver the visibility needed to maximise operational performance and reduce labour costs. “Typically, when we go into a new retailer, we find that more than 50% of sales take place over just 20 hours,” he says. 

“At the same time, by analysing staff’s sales performance, we can identify those staff members who are good at building the basket and those who are fantastic at converting enquiries into sales. By using this information, retailers can match staff rostering to an optimum ratio depending on staff skills and ensure they have their top performers scheduled at peak times, and non-sales tasks are appropriately allocated during quiet periods. It also means they can put the right training and mentoring in place to enhance employees’ careers.” 

imageHOLDERS

imageHOLDERS will be showcasing its self-service and assisted service retail solutions which have been deployed for several large retailers and supermarkets. The company will also be unveiling its latest tablet kiosks.

Adrian Thompson, CEO, imageHOLDERS, says: “Self-service is proving to be one of the most valuable industries for retail. Whilst the market remains trying for retailers, those who are not innovating are finding themselves struggling to keep up with their competitors. By developing solutions which are available 24/7, take up minimal retail space and free up staff to provide exceptional customer experience, imageHOLDERS are assisting retailers around the globe stay five steps ahead.”

Dahua Technology

Dahua Technology specialises in video surveillance manufacturing. At RBTE, it will be showcasing its latest intelligent retail security solutions, which demonstrate that a modern video surveillance system is not just a crime prevention tool, but also a far-reaching business tool.

On display will be Fish Eye cameras that provide a heat-mapping function enabling you to quickly identify the most visited areas of the store, dead zones and bottlenecks. There will also be facial recognition cameras that send alerts when a known shoplifter enters a store. These cameras can also be used to analyse customer demographics and thus improve marketing and in-store promotions. Other operational efficiencies can be achieved using video analytics, such as improving till dwell times by being able to notify store operators when cash register queues are too long so that another one can be opened.

Elo

Elo will show its digital signage and PoS systems. Its booth will feature the company’s newest touchscreen solutions, customer demos and partner installations, providing a full display of the latest in digital retail technology and how retailers use touchscreens to create engaging in-store shopping experiences.

Endless aisle, in-store e-commerce, self-service and Android PoS are a few examples of applications running on the Elo touchscreens. Its line of touchscreen products spans from 10 to 70 inch and includes solutions both for Windows and Android platforms. A modular mPOS approach, interactive self-service and the Elo Backpack Android compute engine expand the use of the touchscreens and turn every touch point into a point of sale.

InovRetail

InovRetail will be showcasing its range of digital solutions, designed to support in season management, using data science to bridge the gap between planning and execution for retailers. Applications showcased will include in-store wearable and fitting room technologies, together with promotional forecasting tools, that encompass a wide range of environmental and market factors, to deliver improved stock and sales models.

Catchoom

Catchoom will be flagging up its new fashion-specific AI solution.

The venture says that DeepProducts helps retailers boost SEO and save operational costs thanks to its rich automated product descriptions. It also provides visual recommendations to customers based on similar-looking items. DeepProducts is able to classify items and provide relevant results down to the most sophisticated details, such as neck styles or shoe heel type.

Box Technologies

In addition to its latest PoS innovations, Box Technologies will be demonstrating its new cashless, self-checkout kiosk solution, designed to add value to stores and generate increased revenue. “We’re seeing increasing market interest in self-checkout systems, so we set out to create a flexible, customisable solution that would meet a broad range of requirements while maintaining a small overall footprint,” the company tells RTIH.

It adds: “We’ll also be showing a new range of retail and hospitality tablets, which combine the sleek design form of consumer devices with the resilience needed in busy environments. We’ve designed in a number of enterprise features, including water and dust resistance, a 1.2m drop specification and powerful processing capabilities as standard – and developed a wide range of optional integrated and standalone peripherals to enhance functionality further.”

Econocom

At RBTE 2018, Econocom will be promoting its BOS subscription for retailers looking to deploy tablet and mobile devices in-store.

Retailers keen to roll-out Apple, Samsung or Microsoft mobile devices across the store estate can now pay a monthly fee to have the equipment delivered to store, as well as collected, wiped and recycled at the end of a two-year contract. The service also includes device warranty for the two-year period, as well as an ecosystem of applications to download onto the devices to aid retailers in using the tablets in-store. Device setup, MDM management and helpdesk can also be added to the package.

Chris Labrey, MD at Econocom UK & IRL, says: "BOS is a unique bundled service that allows retailers to future-proof their operations for the digital age. We now live in a world where ownership, as we know it, is dead. Instead, retailers want services, personalisation and flexibility. BOS offers them this freedom."

The monthly price is calculated per device – with a fully supported iPad Wi-Fi 32GB costing £9.30 per month (an iPad normally costs £282.50 exc. VAT). For an extra £1 per device per month, retailers can flex up or down their estate to accommodate peak and off-peak periods or to refresh their estate halfway through the contract.

PCMS

PCMS will be demonstrating how its latest cloud-based Personalised Offers platform provides retailers with a single view of the customer for timely and relevant marketing campaigns. Shoppers receive location-based promotions, exclusive offers and loyalty rewards based on their unique purchasing habits at the moments that most influence their buying decisions.

Personalised Offers is the latest addition to PCMS’ Vision Commerce Suite, an e-commerce infrastructure, which integrates and centralises consumer insights from across a retailer's omnichannel platforms. This component, paired with tailoring offers to each consumer's individual preferences, improves the customer experience, while enhancing conversion opportunities.

Mercaux

Mercaux, which works with the likes L.K. Bennett and French Connection, offers a mobile platform that brings the benefits of digital into physical stores, improving retailers’ sales and effectiveness and ensuring customers have a seamless omnichannel shopping journey.

RTIH becomes RBTE 2018 media partner

Retail Technology Innovation Hub is pleased to announce a media partnership agreement with RBTE 2018.

Over the next few weeks, we will bring you various show previews and will also post conference stream reports and news stories during the show, as well as a post-event review.

For further information on this, email our Editor at: scott.thompson@retailtechinnovationhub.com