Samsung is heavily invested in IoT, so much so that it unveiled a connected home-car setup at CES 2017 with the Open Connectivity Foundation to give a glimpse into the future of smart home technology. Now at the National Retail Federation Big Show 2017 (NRF 2017), Samsung Electronics America has teamed up with Samsung SDS and SapientRazorfish to bring an IoT-enabled shopping showcase to the spotlight that is designed to blur online and offline shopping experiences in order that they would work together seamlessly.
Samsung’s IoT-enabled shopping showcase at NRF 2017 starts with store entry, where the customer enters the store to pickup an item after ordering it on their smartphone and requesting pickup as his or her preferred delivery method. A store associate is notified on his or her Gear S2 when the customer enters the store, and then he or she visits the customer to get the item they requested and place it in the customer’s hands.
For the customer who’s shopping in-store but needs some help locating the items they want, Samsung has added customer interaction where the customer can press the “Help” button on the store’s mobile shopping app, which alerts the nearest associate (in closest proximity) that a customer needs help. The store associate receives notification on his or her Galaxy Tab S2, and is able to locate the customer and provide needed assistance.
Smart Merchandising helps the customer find the exact shoe of interest to them in the store’s mobile banking app, then take it to a station in order to find out more information about the shoe of choice. Rapid Mobile Payment allows the items for purchase to be scanned into a Samsung Galaxy smartphone, where they’re paid for by way of Samsung Pay and an NFC-based terminal. At the end of the day, data measurement allows stores and employees to see the number of customers, items most requested, all while pushing information to employees to add detail to their knowledge so as to better inform buyers.
Samsung made its IoT-enabled shopping showcase possible by way of a Gear S2 smartwatch, Galaxy Tab S2 tablet, Galaxy S7 edge and Galaxy S7 Active smartphones, along with 55-, 75-, and 85-inch monitors to display content. Samsung SDS supplied Nexshop Sales Mobility and Marketing and Training Solutions, and SapientRazorfish offered live demonstrations of its web development, marketing, and analytics software known as Razorshop.
Samsung’s decision to create an IoT shopping experience that involves virtual order and in-store pickup meets the growing trend of consumers who still want a hands-on encounter with the products they intend to pay for. As opposed to those who are comfortable with a completely virtual experience, and those who’d rather have a completely non-virtual experience, Samsung wants to meet the needs of consumers who’d rather have a bit of both experiences merged into one.
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