Retail Technology Startup Stories Interview: Matt Cater, Founder at smart lockers specialist Clix
RTIH gets the lowdown on Clix Technology, which recently launched a new product - the Clix Smart Locker - having trialled it in B&Q Cardiff since July 2022.
RTIH: Tell us about yourself and Clix Technology
MC: I have worked in the retail industry for over 16 years. I started out as a designer, working my way up to become sole owner of my existing company, FATHOM, which designs and manufactures Point of Sale displays for retail.
I have a deep understanding of consumer behaviour, how people shop, what they want in terms of convenience, and, I believe, what the future holds for retail.
Clix Technology is an innovative new company of which I am the co-founder. We offer the UK’s only mobile Click & Collect strategy that is custom made for the needs and environment of their brand and product mix.
They can provide customers with an autonomous, convenient way to collect online purchases, while also maximising operational excellence through more efficient use of their employee resource.
We’ve spent the last two years working on R&D, and in June 2022, we launched our first in-store trial with B&Q. Throughout this trial, we’ve gathered invaluable real-time data and colleague feedback, which has enabled us to really fine tune our consumer centric offer and add even more features.
By the end of this year, I expect to be trailing with another five big name retailers across multiple sectors.
RTIH: What was the inspiration behind setting the company up?
MC: The pandemic hit FATHOM particularly hard, as most of our customers were in non-essential retail.
On a few occasions, I thought I’d almost lost the business, so I began looking for opportunities to start something new. Around the same time, Amazon had started rolling out its smart lockers. This really got me thinking about the future of retail and how the large e-tailers were continuing to erode bricks and mortar stores.
While the e-commerce giants were thriving during Covid, traditional retailers with an online presence were being forced to rapidly change their business models, scrambling to get Click & Collect areas in place.
I could see that this was a catalyst for the future and that consumer behaviour would never return to its pre-pandemic state. Retailers would need an innovative solution to have any chance of competing.
I then got chatting to a friend whose company was doing some pretty cool stuff in hotels. They’d developed some technology that allows people to unlock their hotel room doors and change the heating and lighting settings in the room, all through a download free progressive web-based app.
I sat there wondering how I could piece all these things together; the situation, the change in customer behaviour and the technology. This is when Clix was born.
In answer to the question, the inspiration lies in giving bricks and mortar retailers the tools they need to not only compete with the large .com giants, but to play to their strengths and develop in areas that mean the .com giants are unable to compete with them.
RTIH: What has been the industry reaction thus far?
MC: Overwhelming. We’ve spoken to lots of large retailers about our offer and the reaction has been so positive. Particularly with regards to the technology as it’s so dynamic, versatile and easy to use, for both the retailer and the customer.
We’re ahead of the curve in this market, but as retailers start to engage with and see the benefits of the concept, large smart locker roll-outs are imminent and will eventually replace traditional Click & Collect desks and store areas.
The retailers we’ve spoken to also love the fact that our system allows for future growth and market agility, so it starts with smart lockers, but it can be used for so much more.
We’re already in conversations about how we can take that further, for example car park collections where the customer checks in on the app on arrival, ready for the goods to be brought out to them. Our ecosystem will continue to grow to service retail in all its various guises.
RTIH: What has been your biggest challenge/setback?
MC: Our biggest challenge has been starting up a tech business in such a big market and having to compete with some very large, very long established companies.
It’s daunting and has required quite a bit of hustle, so it’s a real David and Goliath story. We have had to hold our nerve and be brave, despite it being pretty scary at times.
Trying to carve out a market has also been a challenge. People haven’t experienced or dealt with these things before, so they have no prior history or knowledge of what we’re doing or how it’s going to work.
We’re in the discovery phase of the journey, selling something that some retailers might not even know they need yet. We have to gently persuade them to come on the journey with us, helping them understand that this is change is coming and they need to be thinking about it now.
RTIH: What are the biggest challenges facing the omnichannel retail sector right now?
MC: The biggest challenge right now is convenience, and how bricks and mortar retailers keep up with the ever increasing consumer demand for the quickest, easiest and most convenient way of getting hold of a product.
What was acceptable previously now isn’t. This is of course being driven by the large e-tailers, with Amazon getting it very right.
Physical stores continue to have high overheads, staffing issues and all those types of things that the online giants don’t, but they do also have some trump cards. Our job is to work alongside retailers to enhance those trump cards so that they can offer something above and beyond what is available online.
Physical stores offer an immediacy that e-tailers simply cannot because no matter how quickly the online companies can fulfil an order, they still have to do the last mile delivery.
Our smart lockers also enable retailers to be far more in control of how they facilitate Click & Collect. With existing collection desks, it’s very difficult to provide great customer service and distribute staff efficiently with no knowledge of when people are going to come in and how many will arrive at once.
With Clix, collection is completely autonomous, so there is no need for a manned desk. The customer can turn up and collect their purchase with nothing in their way. No queues, no waiting, no wasted staff resource.
As an example, B&Q were manning a desk for every hour that the store was open, but it was only being utilised about 30% of the time. The other 70% was just wasted cost. At peak times like lunchtimes and early evenings, it got too busy and there were queues, which caused inconvenience to the customer.
With our system, B&Q has eliminated customer queues and reduced staff deployment in its Click & Collect area significantly.
“Our biggest challenge has been starting up a tech business in such a big market and having to compete with some very large, very long established companies.
It’s daunting and has required quite a bit of hustle, so it’s a real David and Goliath story. We have had to hold our nerve and be brave, despite it being pretty scary at times”
RTIH: What's the best question about your company or the market asked of you recently by a.) an investor and b.) a customer?
MC: During our discussions with retailers, we’re often asked about the future of the market and where retail trends are heading, including how Clix will help them rise to the demands of those trends.
I think we’re going to see an increase in what I term “buddy stores”, so complementary retailers joining forces to offer increased convenience and shared costs using smart lockers.
This could be something like a premium dog food brand placing collection lockers in Waitrose, or a brand with a younger demographic like boohoo, having collection lockers in M&S.
A younger female demographic is encouraged into M&S to collect and return, deliberately walking through the food hall or to areas where they wouldn’t naturally go.
This seems a natural win win for both businesses. It’s about finding non competing, sympathetic collaborations for which there are thousands.
RTIH: What can we expect to see from Clix Technology during 2023?
MC: We aim to have five trials with big-name retailers in differing segments of retail, from high street to big box to trade to brands. The plan is to run a major trial in each one of those main categories so we can understand and work across all parts of the retail spectrum.
You’re going to see us develop more innovative products and continue to disrupt the market. Including car park collections and smart locker returns. We’re approaching it from the angle of what customers want, keeping them at the heart of what is a customer centric business.
Everything we’ve done so far, we’ve done with that main purpose and goal. We’re going to change the game, bringing brand new ways for retailers to facilitate order collection. There are so many opportunities in this space, and we’re here to bring them to life.
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