Wednesday, September 21, 2011

This article is about Lowes and the implementation of a new register system, phone system, and totally new information system all built into one devise. Apple has built an adaptation to the iPhone, that has been used in stores for month, that the employees carry around that not only works as a cash register but also a communication device and a devise that can be used to check inventories available to the customers. This article talks about all of the plusses to this new system. It takes away basically all paperwork and creates an easier way to keep track of inventories while also enhancing the customer’s satisfaction with Lowes. This will allow Lowes to communicate within their company as well as gain information from the customers such as their email and purchase history. Before this system after you paid they printed out a receipt and then you were out of the system. Now stores such as Apple and Lowes can email you your receipt, you get paperless receipts that are easier to keep track of and store and Lowes and apple gain your email, and purchase history for future use.

In the modern era of the Internet and online shopping the convenience of stores is beginning to dwindle away. Amazon now you can pay 80 dollars and receive free two day shipping. So now if you cant get to the store or don’t need the product that day ordering online is just as convenient. So in the modern era the experience in stores has to be more technology driven without loosing the helpful touch of the people the company hires. “Introduced in conjunction with an online app for Lowes customers called MyLowe’s that will allow them to view documentation like manuals, warranties and paint formulas.” This new system on the device will improve customer knowledge which is key to a stores success while also giving customers tools they cant find online, most of the time. Also stores that have well knowledgeable employees bring back customers more often, from personal experience, and we know keeping customers is cheaper than finding new ones. So for a company such as Lowes who’s name is already well known, keeping customers is key to maximizing profits without advertisements. With this new way of gathering data the companies Lowes and Apple can save new data about each customer, they can save more than how much they spent but what they bought and use them to predict new patterns in spending and what to have the biggest supply of at different times of the year. This new strategy was implemented by Lowes to get a leg up on the competition, Home Depot. By increasing customer satisfaction and making the shopping process easier they create a more customer driven atmosphere. It came at a price of 60 million dollars but if sales increase even by a very slight amount this will be made back in revenue over the next few years easily.

Based off personal experience the shopping experience can be killed if the line to check out is super long and inconvenient or if the sales people are not knowledgeable about the product. With this product they can look up how many of the product they have, help you decide what is best, and then check you out on the spot. This new system also helps send data to other stores and the management easier, about inventories and sales numbers. The email and phone capabilities of these devises will allow communication saving time and money. This system has already been in place by Apple and has worked well since its implementation. This will help the company above the line by increasing customer satisfaction and hopefully creating more revenue by taking more of the market from the competitors. The new devises or system will also help below the line by cutting out a lot of paperwork, supplies, and man power that has been replaced by the Apple product and the apple support that comes with it.

1 comment:

  1. Forgot to put my source, Website, which i found my article on.

    http://thenextweb.com/apple/2011/09/09/lowes-rolling-out-42000-iphones-to-use-in-payment-systems-similar-to-apple-stores/

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