Let's start with your Connected Retail Platform to which you had recently announced upgrades. Can you tell us more about it? 

Our recent upgrades to Nexite’s Connected Retail Platform include improved software and hardware platforms, upgrades to Connected Merchandise, expanded features in Connected Operations, and new offerings in Connected Stores. Specifically, our new technologies span across EAS secure Mobile ‘Scan & Go’ Self-Checkout, Frontline Staff Task Management, improved performance and cost reductions, improvements to inventory management processes with greater automation, and real-time anti-theft measures for more effective loss prevention.

What were the specific challenges of retailers which you discerned and which drove the Connected  Retail platform? 

Overall, Nexite’s Connected Retail Platform was created to address a crucial need to reinvent physical retail stores. Retailers are facing more challenges than ever before due to rising inventory and labor costs, lack of understanding into store performance on a store-by-store level, and an unfulfilling customer experience resulting from limited visibility into inventory and changing customer expectations and buying patterns. Unfortunately, the retail industry as it stands today is not equipped to handle these issues effectively. By offering an all encompassing solution to these daily pain points through the Connected Retail Platform, Nexite is helping brands maintain and grow the success of their business. 

How would you describe your retail clientele who use the connected platform - Are these local retail chains ? Any specific categories? Do you also cater to global retailers?

We cater to any type of apparel retailer on the local and global level who are looking to improve their business. We currently work with national chain retailers like Factory 54, a multi-brand concept with over 150 of the world's leading brands such as Valentino, Burberry, Giorgio Armani.

Do you also work with service and solution providers who partner with retailers for store design and roll outs? 

On the technology side, Nexite is an open platform with solutions based on industry standards for Bluetooth, IoT and RFID. Our SaaS platform has open APIs and can easily integrate with existing solutions. On the business side, the data we provide can support many other solutions used in business processes and decision making across the organization – from manufacturing, to store design and staff solutions.

You had announced that the new upgrades would drive profitability, efficiency, and brand loyalty. Could you explain in detail? Also, for the benefit of retailers , how would you define the ROI on these solutions?     

Nexite’s new features in particular give retailers direct access to detailed, real-time stock count on the item level across the chain. These updates allow for optimized store efficiency, inventory management that goes beyond RFID’s current abilities, cost reduction, increased localization, and better understanding of how customers are interacting with merchandise at the local store level. It also addresses the current challenges around retail employee retention through its ability to empower store associates with the automated tools they need to eliminate tedious, manual tasks like taking stock counts, and makes their lives much easier when they need to locate items in the store.

The upgrades also support important KPIs for retailers such as higher sell through, faster sell through rate, and less overstock. For example, we can take a product that's not selling in a specific store and see how much engagement it got from shoppers. If engagement was high and it still wasn't selling, we can transfer it to another store where it’s more likely to move off the shelf. If engagement was the issue, the platform uses machine learning to suggest whether to move the item to another location in the store, promote it, or take a different action. This rapid feedback helps retailers react more quickly to increase sales and avoid excess stock at the end of the season. It also helps them with better forecast demand on the local store level, which allows for better buying, pricing, and merchandising decisions in the future. 

Today when it comes to adopting technology, what are the biggest hurdles that retail organizations face in your observation? 

Too often, the people tasked with actually working with the technology don't see how it benefits them, which is why you need technology that actually moves the needle for specific goals within different areas of the organization. Additionally, adopting new technology can be intimidating, which is why communicating the ROI is so important. Many retail organizations today have been operating the same way they always have, not realizing how much potential technology offers. The industry is evolving at a faster pace than ever before. If companies aren’t keeping up, it’s likely they’ll fail. This is why the adoption of new technology is so important. But if it’s not accessible, understandable, and seamless, most organizations will be hesitant about adopting all together. 

What do you think are some of the game changing technologies today that every retailer should invest in?

I think RFID is a great place for retailers to start investing in, with the understanding that it still has its limitations. RFID has been a major game changer in the industry thanks to its ability to offer solutions to challenges created by the pandemic such as component shortages and supply chain issues. But it still has a manual element for inventory management, meaning it isn’t 100% automated. In order to ensure RFID can address more than just supply chain challenges, it’s imperative that RFID is combined with other existing solutions such as IoT Bluetooth and EAS (electronic article surveillance). This will allow for greater in-store digitization, more automation, and better customer experience that spans across enterprises. 

Which are your key markets? How do you see India’s retail market? Any plans to tap the Indian market? And any message to Indian retailers?

India is a fast-growing market and the potential is clear. As our industry presence expands, our go-to market is currently  focused on North America and Europe. As our companies grow, we expect to offer solutions globally so that retailers all over the world can benefit from the market transformation we are leading.