As Simon Smith, Winnings’ new CTO takes the reins he talks to Channel News about the webstore of the future and why instore and online is fast becoming the one.
Ex News Digital CIO Smith knows his stuff with over 20 years experience in IT and has worked for AAPT, Omnilab Media Group, and recently as the Digital Technology Consultant for Sydney Airport.
Smith started his role at Winnings just two weeks ago, and is currently creating a strategic plan for Winnings retail group, which includes Winning Appliances, Appliances Online, Big Brown Box and Handy Crew, websites and nine showrooms.
There are 30-35 personnel in Winnings’ IT division.
“Its an organisation that relies on technology” he says, and its multiple e-commerce websites are updated “multiple times a day.”
However, it’s not all online, Winnings has a ‘state-of-the-art’ appliance showroom in Redfern, showing the import of bricks and mortar to the overall customer experience.
“We want the online and offline experience to merge” says Smith, and encourage customers to “go offline and buy online.”
Winnings’ online operation is around 8 years old, while its bricks and mortar store has been there since 1906. But technology around personalisation and communication is where it’s going, says Smith.
“Amazon do it really well …a tailored experience [online] is key. People are expecting more in relation to customer experience.”
“If we have [customer] information, then we can tailor content, emails, Twitter and Facebook ‘conversations’ that are relevant to them. Such customer information would also allow us “get information to the customer that is time-based and context based.”
“There is a lot of technology around targeting” and ‘conversations’ can be based on seasonality; there’s new systems that can base algorithms around customers’ propensity to buy, whether its Christmas, birthdays. “You can then make scenarios around that and generate emails around what customer might buy.”
Also, there are other web tools like detecting when a customer fails to complete a purchase.
However, “we want to be able to track the customer without stalking them” Winnings’ CTO notes, and this is possible only if you can gain consumer consent.
So, what will the webstore of 2018 look like?
“The sky’s the limit….five years is a long time.”
But we could see a ‘Star Trek’ like e-commerce experiences, says Smith and with the NBN coming to every home, Augmented Reality technology, like Google Glass, and PCs shrinking to smartphones, futuristic technology may not be far away.
Google Glass, for example, could benefit retailers as consumers could take a picture of a kitchen and send it to the store to help with fittings, measurements for appliances and other home equipment.
Online and offline will probably merge even more.
However, despite all the new technologies, customer take up of new technologies is “not always positive,” he notes, and “there’s an important balance between best practice and leading edge technology.”
“My role is to try different things and monitor the response from the user.”
Has the role of CTO become even more important as e-tailing catches on?
“Online retail is growing fast….but how we merge it into one is vital.”
“The omni-channel philosophy has to be true….older retailers have legacy systems but are not adapted to the online world, and then try to integrate the two. But it doesn’t always work well and match up.”
Winnings group has one suite of systems for a seamless experience across all channels – order, distribution consumer, delivery and stock management.
“This system also ensures we have the capacity to grow in the future.”
So is there a worry of online cannibalising offline as we hear so much about?
“Appliance Online does the web extremely well and is growing year on year. It’s not [a case of] “us and them”, says Smith or that online is taking from bricks and mortar, it’s a mutual effort.
However, “there is cannibalisation of online from offline,” he admits, but says “if we make the experience better and more integrated then we get results”.
But there are still some things bricks and mortar stores have that digital doesn’t – like exclusive in store brands. And like the webstore, the instore experience is also getting a digital makeover.
“Its also about how we get additional information in store, compared to just the info available online” and alludes to about digital instore displays.
“That’s where innovation and leading edge technology comes into play” such as using 3D images of fridges and using technology like AR.
Roll on 2018, then.