Self-scanning, wireless systems and internet-linked developments are all aimed at improving customer service and satisfaction, by Penelope Ody

The days when shoppers have to queue at checkouts to pay, or wait while staff disappear into backrooms to check on stock availability or sizes, are numbered. Today's technology is already producing portable payment and information options, while tomorrow's is integrating them into customer-driven options to increase flexibility and service levels.

Portable point-of-sale systems, for example, which allow staff to complete a transaction anywhere on the sales floor rather than only at the till, have long been seen as an ideal retail solution. But early machines were often far from portable: they were heavy, cumbersome and had limited battery life. Now the same technology used in PalmPilots is available for retail point-of-sale.

Symbol Technologies has adapted its Palm- or CE-based SPT1740 unit - already used to take orders in a growing number of Little Chef restaurants - as a portable "till" with the addition of a clip-on card reader. The system is being piloted in the US by Electronics Boutique and CoachBags, a handbag specialty chain.

There is a wireless link to allow assistants to authorise card payments and an infra-red beam to send the transaction details to printers at the wrap desk to produce the receipt ready for customers to collect with their goods. Electronics Boutique believes the hand-held system will improve customer servicing with sales staff able to complete transactions on the shop floor and then simply direct customers to a collection point rather than having to escort them to pay desks once the deal is complete.

"Reducing time spent in the checkout line is an important retail challenge," says Tomo Razmilovic, president and chief executive at Symbol. "Our mobile computers allow retailers to manage their checkout process more effectively."

Wireless applications such as this were once regarded as expensive and unreliable but in the past year bandwidth for store radio networks has dramatically increased, allowing seamless links to store management systems in both staff and consumer applications.

"There is a lot of interest now in wireless," says Richard Bearpark, UK managing director for Wincor-Nixdorf. "Not only does it give mobility to the till, but there is plenty of scope for new hand-held applications. Wireless really is being seen as the next technology revolution for the store."

In a large store, staff typically have to walk 100m or more to access stock records, but with a wireless hand-held device they can answer customer queries on the shop floor, improving service and maintaining customer interest in the transaction. Wireless also means that customers can ask about the availability of goods using either touch screens or VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) technologies.

Safeway in the UK is currently testing Symbol's next generation "personal shopper" self-scanning system at its Malden store in Surrey. The store is equipped with wireless communications systems and the hand-held scanner has a 16-line graphics display, which can be used for image-based messaging.

Although only basic applications are being tested in the pilot project, the units have an integrated voice interface which will allow shoppers to ask a central help desk about product availability or location. The graphics display can also be used for targeted promotions, loyalty offers or even to display a map showing where particular goods will be found.

"There is a lot of interest in these new units for gift and bridal registry," says Paul Duggan, Symbol's UK sales director, "as well as for self-scanning in both DIY and food outlets."

Safeway has also been using PalmPilots in its home shopping Easi-Order scheme for the past year. With the same sort of technology now being adapted for conventional point-of-sale, it could be perfectly feasible in future for a shopper to pre-order from home, then use the same device in the store to select additional fresh or luxury items, pay for both orders in one wireless transaction at the exit and pick up the pre-ordered and prepacked items from a collection point in the car park as they leave.

This sort of seamless integrated-channel model is also behind some of the latest retail hardware launches. IBM, for example has introduced a web-enabled till which allows customers to pre-order goods online and then either pay and collect in the store or cancel the pre-ordered goods if they find something they prefer in the real world.

"With more and more retailers going online, the need to link the web to in-store operations has become a must," says Luigi Freguia, vice-president for IBM Europe's distribution sector.

German department store Karstadt is one of the first users. "As consumers now have more retail choices than ever before, retailers have to do more than provide a satisfying shopping experience to maintain and accrue customers," says Karl Lohman, manager of store operations.

The tills are also becoming more intelligent, with multimedia capability to allow video promotions or customer entertainment while taking the cash. Virgin Destinations, which launches its first total travel centre in Watford in August, is one of the first to install Xn500 terminals, launched late last year by Xn Corporation (formerly Checkout Systems).

The Xn500 has two screens capable of running concurrent but quite different displays, so that while one screen handles a transaction the other could be used for interactive games or loyalty-based promotions for customers. Because these screens can be placed up to 5m apart, the second can be used at Virgin Destinations much as an interactive multimedia kiosk, for customers to access travel-linked promotions or holiday information.

Virgin Destinations - similar in concept to TravelFest in the US - will combine holiday bookings with linked products such as books, specialised clothing, travel accessories, and medical care. The aim is to create a visually stimulating environment using multimedia applications and interactive systems for shoppers.

According to Tim Felix, IT director, this latest Virgin offering is determined to "use leading-edge technology to help inform and sell within our stores."

Tim Godwin, chief executive of software company Retail Business Solutions, says: "We're certainly seeing a blurring between traditional Epos (electronic point of sale) systems and kiosks. They're now just tools to support either assisted sales or customer self-service."

Receipts, too, are entering the "clicks and mortar" arena with digital versions which provide an electronic record of purchases automatically transmitted, via e-mail, to both the customer's home PC and the retailer's customer database. The receipts could be used for anything from "coffee to consumer electronics" and as well as simplifying warranty claims, will form the basis of a new generation of "permission-based marketing" initiatives, with stores able to track a shopper's purchases over time regardless of payment method or loyalty cards.

The technology was developed by NCR and its partners last year, and the Digital Receipt Alliance soon followed. "We currently have around 50 more technology companies wanting to joint the initiative," says Jim Greene, senior product manager for the concept at NCR. "We have two retailers very eager to pilot this year - one is in the office supplies market and the other is in upscale clothing."

US chain Office Depot - a founding member of the alliance - believes that the system will be especially beneficial for the SME businesses it serves because the digital receipt data can be downloaded directly to personal finance, tax or accounting applications.

any of these in-store initiatives are putting the technology into the hands of the customers allowing them to access information or record purchases without necessarily contacting staff. A few years ago this would have been a formula for disaster but with a growing generation of technically literate consumers it is seen by many as the way forward.

"Around four years ago we started seeing intelligent grocery carts which had hand-held PCs for accessing services," says Bob Delaney, head of worldwide market development with Sun Microsystems. "They didn't happen because customers didn't know what to do with them. Now we have more technically aware consumers who are happy with technology, not afraid of the devices, and also starting to expect this sort of technology in-store."

aintaining shopper interest in future, it seems, is going to involve an impressive array of consumer electronics taking the e-tailing message to the shop floor.

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