NRF Retail’s Big Show returns to IRL after a two-year hiatus. Much of the talk centered around retailers investing in technology to augment their frontline workforce.
Important reasons: Labor issues continue to come to mind as retailers still face recruitment, training and retention issues.
detail: Vikram Badhwar, director of restaurant technology at KFC UK and Ireland, says technology can help restaurants facing employee retention issues and growing complexity in restaurant operations.
- “We have to stay competitive and continue to invest in the consumer-facing digital part and evolve that space. We are investing five times more in space than we did last year,” he said, adding that this is to help them succeed in running a restaurant.
in the meantime, Spending on technology is also a focus for grocers.
- CEO Jason Buechel says Whole Foods is investing in technology to support employees, such as improving how products are ordered and helping them plan for when they run out of stock. .
- “Ultimately, that’s another area where there are win-wins. It’s great for the team members because they can focus on some kind of technology or transaction. And the customer gets more time and attention. So it’s great for our customers,” he says.
Yes, but: There is also a change from last year, where retailers, who have moved to the cloud and invested in digitalization, are looking for more use cases.
- Amy Eschliman, Managing Director of Retail Industry Solutions at Google Cloud, told Axios:
- In stores in particular, she adds, there is “openness to using it in more places in the business.” I have.”
- As for worker experience, “I often hear from retailers that it’s a priority,” says Eschliman.
- Eschliman says retailers are trying to attract the best employees, but they’re also looking at ways to make life easier while working, and ways to make work more fun.
conspiracy: Grubbrr CEO Sam Zietz told Axios that the costs of eggs, rent, and utilities are hard to control and the only way they can go is labor.
- His company, which operates a self-ordering system and kiosk software platform, helps move people from behind the counter, where people do mindless tasks such as ordering, to the front, where they can provide a better experience and be more interactive with customers. Helpful.
- Businesses face limited hours or simply closing.
- He expects the technology to be more widely adopted this year. Either you close the door or you have to evolve. “