Industry News - September 14th 2014
| | RETAIL AND TECHNOLOGY NEWS | Travel F&B Provider Standardizes Operations with Cloud-Based POSAreas USA, a leading provider of food & beverage and retail services in the travel industry, has selected the MICROS Simphony Enterprise Solution as its standard SaaS, cloud-based point-of-sale system across its United States airport and turnpike operations. Areas USA will build its operational technology infrastructure for food and beverage utilizing MICROS Simphony, which provides the organization with a robust enterprise system, web-based reporting, and business intelligence functionalities with a high level of flexibility. MICROS’s Simphony also seamlessly interfaces to Areas USA’s Corporate Infrastructure systems. Leveraging MICROS Simphony’s state-of-the-art technology and service oriented architecture (SOA), Areas USA can quickly deploy the system across its organization and streamline the integration of Simphony into its multi-brand airport and turnpike operations. Simphony is centralized, allowing for the entire system to be managed from one application. The solution is also being hosted in one of MICROS’s worldwide data centers, removing Areas USA’s onsite servers and the responsibility of managing the servers from its internal IT department. MICROS and Areas USA have been partners for years, with the MICROS 9700 Hospitality Management System (HMS) installed at many locations. The sites with the MICROS 9700 HMS will be converted to the MICROS Simphony platform in conjunction with the implementation of Simphony at all new sites under the management of Areas USA. MICROS Simphony and MICROS 9700 HMS have a similar look and feel, providing the sites converting to the new solution reduced training time as well as an improved user interface.
SmartReceipt Partners with Wireless Tech Provider Every year, more than 250 billion receipts are handed to consumers in the United States alone. Most include only the financial details of the transactions, ignoring the enormous potential of this direct-to-consumer communications opportunity. SmartReceipt software transforms ordinary printed receipts into engaging "smart" receipts. This real-time, behavior-driven communication medium has proven to generate revenue and influence consumer purchasing decisions for many of the nation's leading brands, including Subway, Burgerville and ARAMARK. Sitting between the register and receipt printer, SmartReceipt can provide personalized offers, targeted marketing, nutrition education and location-based advertising to consumers. SmartReceipt also delivers advanced consumer analytics to the retailer with real-time coupon redemption tracking to maximize campaign results. In addition to printing dynamic receipts that take into account the current purchase, SmartReceipt can print QR codes that automatically bring retail customers to online surveys using their smart phone where they are rewarded with free offers or other incentives to inspire customer loyalty and repeat business. Wireless Ronin will offer new and existing clients -- particularly those in the quick service restaurant (QSR) industry -- the SmartReceipt platform as an enhancement to its dynamic digital menu boards, interactive social media and promotional displays powered by its RoninCast(R) software platform.
IBM Debuts Cloud-Based Automated Marketing SolutionIBM has introduced a cloud-based solution that integrates digital analytics with real-time marketing execution capabilities. IBM Marketing Center allows retailers to quickly analyze customer shopping patterns and use these insights to personalize e-mail, Web and mobile offers. The application, introduced at the IBM Smarter Commerce user conference in Orlando, FL, provides automated marketing tracking, digital and campaign analytics that measure the effectiveness of marketing programs, allowing for real-time adjustments if necessary. For example, if a mobile website visitor frequently identifies items of interest but consistently fails to complete a purchase, the solution can quickly identify this trend. Marketers can then re-engage the customer with a coupon offering 10% off a purchase as well as a website personalized to reflect the shopper's unique interests. "Given today's empowered customers that are digitally connected 24/7, we see it as a top priority to provide our customers with the best possible experience in every interaction," said Office Depot director of web analytics Laura Sympson-Cornelius in a statement. "The idea behind the new IBM Marketing Center, to combine digital analytics and real-time marketing execution in a single application, is very compelling for making that task easier." "With the IBM Marketing Center, we expand our SaaS portfolio with an all-in-one solution that provides CMOs and their teams with the intelligence required to consistently meet the unique needs of each individual customer – the ultimate goal of all marketers," said IBM Enterprise Marketing Management vice president Yuchun Lee. IBM also introduced Smarter Commerce Managed Services at its conference. This new set of services from its Global Process Services group helps executives deploy and manage cross-channel commerce processes, including human interaction components such as agent chat support or live assistance.
Discover Deal Puts PayPal in 7M Retail Locations by 2014A new partnership between PayPal and Discover Financial Services, the nation's fourth-largest credit card issuer, pushes the eBay division even further into the brick-and-mortar retail payment space – to more than seven million merchant locations in the U.S., to be precise. Beginning in 2014, "PayPal can be enabled as a payments option for our 50-plus million active users in the U.S. at any in-store location that accepts Discover," said PayPal vice president of retail and prepaid products Don Kingsborough in a statement. "The establishment of this relationship is a major industry milestone, which will help shape the emerging payments landscape by bringing together an established direct banking and payments company with a leading commerce enabler to create an alternative payments option for consumers at the point of sale," said Diane Offereins, president of Discover Payment Services. Retailers will not need to add new POS hardware or software to accept PayPal-issued cards, according to the companies; consumers will swipe the cards through existing readers and enter a four-digit PIN. The new cards will have a Discover Issuer Identification Number, or IIN, to identify the cardholder; Discover has already set up the IINs for the PayPal cards on its network, according to Reuters. PayPal will charge retailers a small fee when customers pay using the cards, and in turn will pay Discover for access to its network on a per-transaction basis. PayPal has been aggressively moving into store payments. After enabling mobile phone-based payments via a rapid rollout to all Home Depot stores earlier this year, PayPal expanded its retailer roster in May with 15 more name-brand companies, including JCPenney, Barnes & Noble, Toys 'R' Us, Advance Auto Parts, Abercrombie & Fitch, Foot Locker, Office Depot, American Eagle Outfitters, Guitar Center and Jos. A. Bank Clothiers. The company also launched a mobile payments solution for small businesses, PayPal Here, and has forged relationships with several leading POS terminal vendors. The Discover deal, announced August 22, "will deliver a truly seamless digital wallet, available most places consumers shop offline, which offers the speed, simplicity and security already enjoyed by 113 million active PayPal customers online," said Kingsborough. More Technology News
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