Grocery And Convenience Store IT News For VARs For May 29, 2014
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
In the news, a new survey reveals customers are most willing to accept digital marketing campaigns via smartphone. Also, Tesco is piloting a high-speed checkout solution, and Sunhouse Petroleum integrates an at-the-pump video network. In addition, a study shows college students aren’t as comfortable with mobile payments as expected.
Survey: Smartphone Campaigns By Grocery Retailers Most Trusted
Talking Retail reports that new research by Savvy Marketing into the emerging digital shopper marketing landscape reveals U.K. consumers trusted grocery the most to deliver digital marketing campaigns direct to their smartphones (68 percent), followed by loyalty card providers (58 percent). Less than one-third trusted brands to carry out these types of campaigns, and less than one-quarter of shoppers said that they wouldn’t trust any of the groups specified to deliver digital campaigns.
Tesco Pilots New, High-Speed Checkout Solution
According to a press release, Tesco is improving the customer checkout experience by piloting a new, high-speed retail checkout solution. Each unit allows three shoppers to pack and pay at the same time, using imaging technology to automatically scan products placed on a conveyor belt without having to put the bar code at a particular angle on the belt. The solution is designed to reduce queuing, allowing customers to get out of the store more quickly, by increasing the rate at which items are scanned, packed and paid.
First Video Network At The Pump Offered In Greensboro, N.C., Area
According to a press release, the reach of video networks at the pump continues to add new retailers and regions to its rapidly growing station network. The adoption of the new media program, which connects in-store products to consumers based on their demographic information, by Sunhouse Petroleum is part of an effort to integrate new technical systems into operations, upgrade consumer offering, and increase profitability. The dispensers are also EMV-ready and capable of supporting near field communication (NFC) solutions as these payment technologies are implemented.
College Students Wary Of Mobile Payments
A study done by Balance Innovations found that 42 percent of 2,503 college students surveyed would “probably not” or “definitely not” make more mobile payments if they were widely available. Another 42 percent said that they would use their mobile phone “somewhat more, depending on the retailer or purchase,” while 16 percent of respondents said they absolutely would use mobile payments “all the time.”
Study Claims EMV Cards Not Impervious To Attacks
University of Cambridge researchers say they found two serious problems with the chips that could make them vulnerable to “pre-play” attacks, which are indistinguishable from the very card cloning the cards are designed to prevent. At the center of the security flaws is the “nonce,” or the unpredictable 32-bit number used in EMV ATM and point-of-sale transactions to signify they’re fresh and can’t be reused again by fraudsters. Some EMV implementers, the researchers found, have used simple counters, timestamps, or homegrown algorithms to supply the nonce.
Grocery and C-Store IT Talking Points
In this interview with payments.com, Forte CEO, Jeff Thorness, explains how he sees the omni-channel retail space evolving, the importance of data in delivering an omni-channel reality, and what Forte is doing to help merchants adapt. He stressed that early adopters would have a huge advantage, and that omni-channeling transcends the retail industry.
For more news and insights, visit BSMinfo’s Grocery and Convenience Store Tech Center.