Posted by John Stelzer on January 28, 2010

Heading into NRF, this year, it appeared that mobility would be the new “gee-whiz” thing at the show.  And, it was.  But, what was such a surprise was how many retailers are seriously looking into using it as the next game-changing capability that they will employ in 2010.

Mind you, they weren’t just looking to use mobility for mobility’s sake.  Rather, they were looking to leverage mobility as a convenient, real-time access vehicle to put the power of holistic inventory, order, and shipment visibility and cross-channel order management at the fingertips of their employees and their customers.

On one hand, the retailers with whom we met were looking to give store associates the ability to recover from stock-outs by being able to view inventory availability everywhere, capture the sale before the customer ever leaves the store, and efficiently trigger and track fulfillment all via the mobile device…regardless of where the customer happens to be in the store.

On the other hand, these retailers were looking to use the mobile device and a retailer-branded mobile application to put very similar capabilities in the consumer’s hands.  In this model, the consumer could find nearby stores in the retailer’s chain with available inventory; easily see associated items, alternate items, specials, etc.; place an order for the desired items; and arrange for in-store pickup, shipment to a designated address, or any combination of available fulfillment options.

When you think about it from a consumer standpoint, it will make for a very good 2010 and beyond as retailers are able to recover from stock-outs and get the products we want from them into our hands in the most convenient way by putting the necessary capabilities at the fingertips of store associates.  And, when you think about it from the retailer’s perspective—at least those who choose to act now and seize the opportunity for competitive advantage—it will make for a very good 2010 and beyond as they avoid the customer disappointment and lost sales of stock-outs, satisfy customers with a convenient method for finding available product, and place an easy-to-use means of shopping and buying anywhere in the palm of their customer’s hand…Happy New Year, indeed!

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