My Fellow Retail Enthusiasts,
My name is Tom Welsh, I am a graduate student in business at NYU, and due to recent dire economic circumstances, I’ve had to make a tough choice: donate my body to science or get a real job. I have not made up my mind. But to learn more about the real world and feed budding interests in merchandising and retail technology, I’ve come to the Big Show here at the Javits Center as a student blogger, and I’ll be reporting to you throughout the show. Dare I say, the internet will never be the same…
Here’s a recap of Day One:
Try It, You’ll Like, no LOVE, It: 8:30-10:00AM
The first presentation I went to was “Try It, You’ll Like It” to catch the winning student group presentation of the NRF’s Intercollegiate Challenge. I was not involved in this, which was convenient, because it looked like serious work. But then Shop.org gave each student on the winning team a $2500 Ray M. Geenly scholarship. While others may have had a different experience, in my book Mr. Greenly was far more generous that Santa Claus was three weeks ago. My new New Year’s Resolution: be good in 2009 and get more involved in NRF Intercollegiate Activities.
Association for Retail Technology Standards Update: 10:15-11:45AM
These guys mean business. First, I was chased into the auditorium by security, who apparently thought that I had faked my ID badge just to sneak into the ARTS session to gather information. I have been mistaken as an international man of mystery before, but he was unimpressed by my giant NRF Foundation Collegiate Blogger button. Just as I was about to tell him he shouldn’t pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel, his scanner clicked to green and it was safe for me to resume my seat.
The presenters were equally serious, which should be expected. These are the people on the front lines of keeping our data safe. Francisca Cicente-Tamarin, of El Corte Ingles, S.A., told us that they used to call their POS system “El Loco.” Keeping company secrets safe while battling crazy robot computers? Move over, James Bond.
Mobility and Near Field Communications (NFCs): 12:00-1:30PM
Interesting chat about the future of NFCs-basically transmitters attached to your credit cards and cell phones. While the technology has the potential to help personalize store promotions, the crowd wasn’t quite sold. The panel put on a pretty hard sell on the benefits of the technology, but fears of security and high implementation costs still seemed to weigh on retailers’ minds.
Embrace Global Megatrends and Turn Shoppers Into Advocates: 1:45-2:45PM
I went to this Super Session at 1:30PM, and it was hard not to be drawn in…When I first walked in to the main room, it was like walking into a rock concert-a giant black stage with huge speakers and stage lights everywhere, with brightly colored stage architecture piece, blasting rock music, and two Jumbo-tron screens. Was I at the NRF Big Show or the People’s Choice Awards? If there were stage flames, we could have been at an Alice Cooper performance. But as NRF chief Tracy Mullin reminded us in her opener, the only thing going down in flames this year was the economy.
Ok, but what’s the game plan? According to IBM, consumers want value-and when the going gets tough, more of them are becoming loyal advocates and “shifting” their loyalty to stores where they get more value. Turn shifters into shoppers, and shoppers into advocates.
Martin Lindstrom, author of Buyology, then gave fun talk, highlighting why how irrational we are. I was hooked, until he told us that he got most of his data by actually scanning people’s brains. A brief moment of paranoia erupted as I worried that he was reading my thoughts. Who does this guy think he is-my wife?
But seriously-Lindstrom’s main point was that rituals, subtle suggestions, and somatic markers that appeal the subconscious are way more powerful than conventional advertising. I don’t know if his theories are true or not, but I have a sneaky suspicion that every time I see an MRI image of the human skull I’ll have an urge to buy his book. Can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring.
