Publishing agency Somersault Group reports on tech trends affecting stores

Seventy percent of Christian store shoppers say they would buy an e-book at a Christian retail store, according to publishing strategy and services agency Somersault Group. A three-person panel from the Grand Rapids, Mich., agency reported on “Tech, Trends and Retail Success” during CBA’s NEXT 2013 training event held Jan. 9-10 at AmericasMart in Atlanta.

Observing that Christian consumers are adopting tablets and e-readers at a faster pace than the general population, the panel noted the recent introduction of the Myeebo tablet from ACM Digital and the presence of Kobo tablets in the bookstore market. E-books and mobile were two of the five tech trends that are impacting retail, the others being print on demand (P.O.D.), augmented reality and cashless culture.

Mardel is one chain using P.O.D. with the Espresso Book Machine. Titles from Baker Publishing Group and Zondervan, among others, are available through Espresso.

Augmented reality—such as the use of QR codes—mean more connectivity than ever.

Society is moving toward a cashless culture, the panel said. PayPal is accepted at store registers using a mobile number and PIN, and major retailers have created a Merchant Customer Exchange for checkout with cell phones.

Four retail trends—showrooming; SoLoMo (Social, Local, Mobile); omni-channel; and personalization—were also highlighted as significant to retailers.

With showrooming—using a smartphone in-store to conduct product research and price comparisons and possibly buying elsewhere—retailers must consider whether it is a threat or an opportunity. Somersault made several recommendations, including providing free in-store Wi-Fi and offering a coupon on the sign-in screen and promoting a store’s videos with QR Codes.

Spelled out, SoLoMo means Social, Local, Mobile. Taking into account social media, local on-the-spot consumer presence and mobile technologies, the panel offered solutions such as creating a mobile-friendly website, participating in social couponing such as Groupon or LivingSocial, and incentivizing customers to opt-in to the store’s email and texting communications.

The panel urged retailers to cultivate a relaxing atmosphere, provide real-time marketing and offer information openly that reassures customers in their purchase decisions. Stores were also encouraged to assign a staff member to event management and another to digital communication.

“Be the Christian hub of your community,” the panel told NEXT attendees. “Christian booksellers are no longer only in the bookselling business. You are in the community-building, personalized-service, outcome-based-solution-provider, experts-in-all-things-publishing-related and technology business with a spiritual emphasis.”

After hearing the Somersault report, George Thomsen, CBA chairman and director of the Harvest Bookstore and Café in Riverside, Calif., wrote “Why my store is irrelevant” on the top of his handout.

“It’s not that we don’t have what’s relevant,” Thomsen said. “The Bible is always relevant and good Christian books are always relevant, but we’re not communicating with people in a relevant way.”

Along with supplier-retailer speed meetings and workshops on topics ranging from e-books to customer relationships, NEXT featured as one of the speakers Mike Ashcraft, author of My One Word: Change Your Life With Just One Word (Zondervan), who challenged attendees to resolve to focus on one word this year  that reflects what they most hope God will do in them.

More than 90 retailers and 35 people from 11 sponsoring companies attended NEXT, held just prior to the Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market.

Retailers can access online Somersault’s customer survey developed for their stores at <a href="http://www.scribd.com/SomersaultGroup" target="_blank">www.scribd.com/SomersaultGroup</a>.

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