INVESTIGATIVE FEATUREaccounts were frozen, and the airline’s
brand was tarnished.
Another high profile example is
Target, which was forced to pay out
more than US$100 million to banks
and customers who lost money in the
2013 hack of its database. This
particular breach occurred at the
Point of Sale (POS) via software that
was installed on machines used by
customers who were swiping the
magnetic strips on their cards when
making a payment. Over 70-million
customers were impacted, and the
drawn-out lawsuit that followed only
served to exacerbate the retailer’s
sullied image.
As Jack notes, “Security and
cybersecurity are very important
to the industry, and it needs to go
well beyond the IT department. It
needs to be of paramount concern to
the board and the leadership team
— they need to make sure the data
people have provided, and that they
have collected, is secure and is not
going to be infiltrated.”
Interestingly, research conducted by
Hybris reveals that consumers are more
likely to trust private organisations over
public organisations with their private
data. “That’s because of that ‘big
brother’ feeling — I’m providing this
data, what are they going to do with it?”
Stuart explains. “We don’t expect
private organisations to do anything
more with our data than maybe market
to us. While this isn’t necessarily
accurate, it’s an interesting insight into
public perception and how it influences
a consumer’s engagement with a brand.”
WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS
It sounds like something out of a
science-fiction story, but Amazon are
actively working on Prime Air, a
delivery technology that will see drones
deliver packages ordered on Amazon in
30 minutes or less. The drones
themselves will weigh only 55 pounds,
and will therefore only be able to
transport packages up to 5 pounds.
While Prime Air is currently still in the
R&D phase, Amazon is testing vehicles
in various different locations, including
the US, the UK, Austria and Israel.Another technology that is yet to reach
its potential in the retail space is
biometric software. According to
next-generation technology company
CSC, biometric software — which
identifies a person based on physical
attributes such as their face, eye or
fingerprint — can be integrated into
digital platforms as well as in store.
While applications such as Apple Pay
really only scratch the surface, they
demonstrate the ease of the
technology, which will purportedly
benefit retailers and consumers alike.
With the ease of something like
fingerprint technology, retailers would
likely see reduced shopping cart
abandonment online and on mobile
devices, and payments would be more
secure. For consumers, passwordswould be eliminated and their
personal data safer.Although proximity marketing is
technically not a new concept, location-
based services like Bluetooth beacons
and GPS Geofencing are causing the
market to boom. Research conducted
by MarketsandMarkets predicts that the
proximity marketing market will be
worth US$52.46 billion by 2022, at a
compound annual growth rate of 29.8
per cent between 2016 and 2022. The
research also indicates that North
America and APAC have the major
markets for proximity marketing due to
their smartphone penetration,
availability of mobile internet, and high
use of mobile applications. Having
recently been appointed director of
Sprooki, a proximity marketing
company based in Australia, John
believes that location-based services
have the ability to engage consumers on
a deeper level. He says, “Proximity
marketing makes a connection using
location as a tool to enhance the
experience for a consumer in a mall
and engage with them in a relevant,
contextual moment in time.”WORLD’S LARGEST RETAILERS
According to the Forbes Global 2000 — an annual ranking of the world’s
top 2,000 public companies conducted by Forbes Magazine — in 2016,
the world’s 25 largest retailers are:- Wal-Mart, US
- CVS Health, US
- Walgreens Boots
Alliance, US - Home Depot, US
- Target, US
- Costco Wholesale, US
- Lowe’s Cos, US
- Amazon.com, US
- Inditex, Spain
- TJX Cos., US
- H&M, Sweden
- Macy’s, US
13. Dollar General, US
14. Falabella, Chile
15. Best Buy, US
16. Liberty Interactive, US
17. L Brands, US
18. Ross Stores, US
19. Metro Group, Germany
20. AutoZone, US
21. Kingfisher, UK
22. Fast Retailing, Japan
23. CarMax, US
24. Kohl’s, US
25. Marks & Spencer, UK