Convenience Store Decisions, December 2017

INDUSTRYPERSPECTIVES From biometrics to augmented reality technological opportunities are starting to move faster By Erin Rigik Del Conte Senior Editor 62 Convenience Store Decisions l December 2017 CStoreDecisions ecisions com Looking at 2018 and Beyond T ECHNOLOGY HAS EVOLVED FASTER in the last five years than it has in decades bringing changes that are disrupting major industries including the c store industry I recently spoke with Futurist Daniel Burrus to get his take on some of the biggest technology initiatives to watch in the coming year and years ahead According to Burrus c store retailers should expect the transition to mobile payment in the short term with an eventual move toward biometrics BioPay to identify people Whats more augmented reality opportunities are expected to increase as Google glasses launch in the next few years and accelerate the demand for augmented reality options Burrus expects the transition to mobile payment to begin moving more rapidly The EMV chip on a credit card is kind of like taking a DVD and making it super high defi nition just before streaming In other words its the last hurrah of the physical tangible credit card Burrus said When it comes to mobile were already using multiple biometrics depending on the level of security Weve already got the fi ngerprint on not just the iPhone but on a number of other phones now We have Apple coming out with facial recognition which they claim is even better And they wont be the only one he said Already we have the ability to use the camera for retinal scans and to sense identity via cardiac rhythms which are all unique As hacking continues to become a larger concern and social security cards and financial data are repeatedly hacked Burrus sees biometrics as the next frontier After all its harder to steal people than social security numbers Burrus predicts that in the near future social security numbers will become so compromised that we stop using them and move to biometrics In fact he expects AmazonGo will eventually incorporate biometrics Weve already seen experimentation with BioPay in the c store industry 7 Eleven for example partnered with Lotte Card and Lotte Data Communication earlier this year to launch its fi rst smart convenience store equipped with a BioPay system at Lotte World Tower in Seoul South Korea according to The Korea Herald The 7 Eleven store at Lotte World Tower uses the HandPay system that identifi es individuals by the vein pattern on the palm of their hand That pattern identifi ed by the HandPay device is also linked to a pre assigned credit card The method was selected over fi ngerprint and iris scanning because it was considered more convenient for customers AUGMENTED REALTY Expect augmented reality to become more prevalent in 2018 and beyond Augmented reality is looking at the physical real world environment whose elements are augmented by computer generated input For example using an app to scan something to gain more information about an item Another example is Google glasses which are expected to hit the market soon The latest rendition of the glasses will look just like regular glasses Burrus explained but will have an augmented reality option such as the ability to connect to a phone via Bluetooth allowing wearers to tap into the power of their phone with the option to turn on and off data GETTING READY While we wait for BioPay mobile pay and augmented reality to arrive c stores can prepare now C stores with apps are already ahead of the game but with more apps on the market than ever before retailers should try to make them sticky meaning useful to customers Burrus advised For example an app that allows c store customers to confi rm ahead of time if the store has the item they desire in stock and even let them order ahead can add stickiness Targeted marketing that allows for personalized specials as the stores learn what the customer buys is another strategy Using big data and analytics to determine what gets each customer into the store and suggesting related items is an important thing for c stores to fi gure out if they dont want to be left behind as the future arrives If retailers can begin mining big data now to learn about how to target customers in a personalized way they will be well positioned to act when augmented reality rolls into town