While the business reasons for introducing mobile technology into store so that staff can provide their customers with a better service, are stronger than ever, many retailers are struggling to move from initial store pilots to mass deployments.
Digital interactions through mobile devices are a major part of the solution to bridging the current gap between on line and store, and tablet devices are on most multi-channel retailers’ shopping lists. However, many are finding that the sheer range and weight of challenges has brought many projects to a halt.
The problem begins when retailers try to scale up from a successful pilot. In store, a whole raft of challenges arise, which collectively are the responsibility of not just the original project sponsor, but also marketing, IT and operations.
The challenges include the lack of a clear model for delivering risk-managed ROI to the business, the difficulties of surfacing legacy systems data onto mobile devices, inadequate in-store connectivity, concerns over security, lack of access control – no one knows how to get access, the device and its maintenance is too expensive, even higher costs once peripherals are added, and difficulties of managing and tracking apps and devices.
However, this seemingly insurmountable pile of problems, can be relatively easily dealt with if they are all considered in advance as part of an integrated solution. We recommend the following steps:
- Put your Android apps through a management test center to test usability, resilience and recovery in a live environment
- Work with a customized management system that covers device and app monitoring and support, user access and security, and hardware protection
- Choose a partner that has invested in an experienced, pre-approved ecosystem of app, payment and security vendors
- Work with that partner to create a simple and transparent TCO model that reflects the true cost over a given time of running the entire solution
If you are interested in learning more about how Moki can help your business, please call us at (844) 665-4669 or request a demo at moki.com/demo.
