Platform Overview
The Intel® Responsive Retail Platform (Intel® RRP) enables rapid development and deployment of IoT services that enhance customer experience and drive operational efficiencies from the supply chain through to the store floor. It does this by easing the process of onboarding legacy gateways, diverse sensor types, and having multiple applications running on the same platform (no more data silos). Thus, it serves to connect an entire store which enables retailers to get a comprehensive view of in-store operations along with access to the value of their data. Data-driven insights gained through the platform can be acted upon to help retailers improve operational efficiency and strengthen customer engagement.
Below we outline modern challenges faced by retail stores and the need to transform their data into business insights. We then discuss the Intel® RRP as a solution that enables retailers to harness the power of their data to meet those challenges and stay competitive.
Who can Benefit from Using the Intel® RRP
The Intel® RRP can be used by both physical and omni-channel retailers (i.e. those that have both physical and online presence). In the case of omni-channel retailers, Intel® RRP works to manage multiple channels and supports data fusion by enabling the data from digital channels to fuse with the data from physical channels.
Challenges Faced by Retailers
Today’s consumers are increasingly Internet savvy and equipped with mobile devices which enable them to search and compare online for the best deals on products. As a result, many consumers no longer adhere to the idea of “brand loyalty” but instead seek out competing brands and stores. They’re increasingly more likely to make a purchase from whichever brand or store offers the best deal, and this presents a challenge to retailers when it comes to anticipating consumer behavior. Adapting to modern consumer behavior (their variable purchase and browsing habits) along with the pressures to leverage “big data” to get insight into those consumers as well as a store’s operations are key business challenges retailers face to stay competitive.
Modern Browsing and Purchasing Behavior
Consumers can shop online or in-store but often engage in behavior that combines online browsing with an in-store purchase or vice versa. And according to research conducted by Intel, nearly 75% of consumers browse online before visiting a shop to inspect a product then go back online to search for the best deal.
Also, the availability and effectiveness of online or in-store help can affect consumer behavior. The same research findings mentioned above, suggest that about 90% of consumers will leave a store or website if they’re unable to readily find something or no help is available.
Managing Several Data Sources
Omni-channel retail stores that have multiple channels (both physical and digital) are presented with a unique challenge. Not only do they face the task of managing several data sources (data coming from both their online and physical presence) but also finding the time and expertise to manage and then derive insights from these increasingly complex data sources.
The Need for Business Insights
Unlike brick-and-mortar retailers (stores that are not online), online retailers can observe how consumers interact with the design of their apps or websites (where they navigate, what products they browse and for how long, etc.) The advantage of being able to use browser cookies to track what products a consumer considers, views, and eventually purchases (in near real-time) can give online retailers great insight into their operations (which can include following orders from the place of purchase, through distribution, and even into their supply chain).
But without the benefit of browser cookies to track consumer behavior and interaction, brick-and-mortar retailers struggle to gain the same insights. These retailers have a tougher time honing their customer, workforce, and inventory management as well as store environment strategies, because both the data and data-driven insights are difficult to acquire.
The Internet of Things, sensor technologies, and business intelligence applications can offer some relief but are typically too complex to implement fully (separate applications have to be cobbled together to share data). Burdened with technology silos, long implementation time-frames, and limited people resources to work with data to extract business insights, brick-and-mortar retailers face great challenges to remain competitive with their online competition.
Data-driven Insights through the Intel® RRP
As a solution to the challenges faced by in-store (brick-and-mortar) retailers, Intel has created the Intel® Responsive Retail Platform (Intel® RRP) which combines gateways, sensors and software to connect an entire store to enable a comprehensive view of a retailer’s in-store operations along with data-driven insights.
Designed to bridge the digital and physical worlds, Intel® Responsive Retail Platform works to:
• Simplify sensor management.
• Eliminate islands of technology.
• Enable interoperable data and events.
• Deliver near real-time alerts and calls-to-action.
Intel® RRP enables the rapid development and deployment of IoT services that enhance the customer experience and drive operational efficiencies from the supply chain to the store floor.
Ease of Sensor Onboarding with Intel® Context Sensing SDK
Designed to be open to any application (data or sensor-type) regardless of manufacturer or software vendor, Intel® RRP uses the open source Intel® Context Sensing SDK along with UPM (sensor library) and MRAA (I/O library) to enable the connection of over 400 sensor types from diverse manufacturers. This allows for faster and less complex integration of sensor and other data types for reading, conversion (raw values from MRAA into human readable units), and the subsequent creation and identification of events. The Intel® RRP is an on premise (in-store) edge appliance that can leverage legacy sensing infrastructure with the Intel® Context Sensing SDK, along with UPM and MRAA, to connect devices and other data sources for data integration.
Sensing with Intel® RRP
There are numerous sensor technologies on the market, but in the retail environment we categorize technologies by what they are sensing.
In the diagram above, we outline four categories of things being sensed:
1. Consumer: Sensing where a customer is at could help determine if a retailer needs to send an associate to assist them.
2. Retail associate: Sensing and tracking where associates are located can help determine who is closest and available to assist a customer.
3. Product: Inventory and product placement tracking helps to understand inventory levels and locate misplaced products.
4. Store environment: Monitoring the store environment can help to understand foot-traffic, what aisles or products are receiving a lot of consumer attention and what sections of the store aren’t attracting shoppers.
The Advantage of Interoperable Event Data
Intel® RRP uses Docker* container technology to enable multiple devices and applications to reside on the same platform. And this allows the event data created by the Intel® RRP to be interoperable—devices and applications can share data, interpret that shared data and eventually present it to the user (for example, the business owner). This interoperability can enable insights into in-store operations which empowers a business to take the right actions to improve operational efficiency (discover opportunities to automate tasks or reduce costs) or strengthen customer engagement (Intel® RRP features accurate inventory management to help retailers better serve their customers).
Transition into the Next Generation of Retail
We’ve presented the Intel® RRP as a solution that enables retailers (both physical and omni-channel) to meet the challenges of evolving consumer trends (for example, modern purchase and browsing behavior) as well as the ability to unlock the value of their retail data. By easing the process of onboarding legacy gateways, diverse sensor types, and having multiple applications running on the same platform, the platform connects an entire retail store to provide businesses with a comprehensive view of their in-store operations along with data-driven insights. Those insights can empower businesses to take appropriate action to improve their in-store operations and also help them to discover opportunities for strengthening customer engagement.
As a responsive model that enables near real-time data-driven insights, the Intel® RRP can help businesses to transition into the next generation of retail where they have the ability to quickly respond to evolving consumer demands and trends, enhance a customer’s shopping experience, and discover valuable opportunities to reduce operational costs.