The Mobile Retail Associate: 4 Best Bets And Best Practices For 2013

March 2013 Integrated Solutions For Retailers

By Matt Pillar, editor in chief

The need to arm associates with mobile devices is well-defined. The applications, hardware, and networks are market-ready. Now we face the biggest challenge: the systemic and operational change necessary to make it all work.

If the word on the street is any indication, you’ve accepted the challenge of a relatively new phenomenon; consumers are wielding mobile technology that gives them better access to product, price, and promotional information than your store associates have. To mitigate the risk that consumer-held smartphones and tablets might displace the frontline associates who were once a great differentiator in your provision of value — costing you opportunities to make impressions, guide and save sales, box out your competition, and develop customer loyalty along the way — you’re ready to rush mobile devices and applications to your stores at a breakneck pace.