Retail and Hospitality

Commentary:

Windows 8 offers new way of retailing

24 October 2012

Nick D’Alessio at Dell explains the impact the new wave of Windows 8 tablets will have in retail

Dell is helping retailers touch the future with a refreshed portfolio of business and consumer PCs built for Microsoft Windows 8. From the Latitude 10 tablet through to the XPS 12 laptop and tablet combo, Dell’s devices deliver on the promise of new advances in computing, offering an intuitive touch experience combined with both the design desired by consumers and the commercial-grade security and manageability features required by businesses.

Retail-optimised Windows 8 tablets allow deeper customer engagements, while enabling increased efficiencies for both managers and sales personnel

Nick D’Alessio, Dell For the retail sector in particular, these devices will have a huge impact. As Nick D’Alessio, retail marketing strategist at Dell, explains: “More than ever, customers expect store personal to provide them with real-time product information, pricing, inventory status, and even in-aisle purchase transactions. Until now, store associates have been woefully under-equipped to meet these expectations. These new Windows 8 devices are changing that – putting information in the hands of workers.”

With access to a mobile device that is connected to the store’s back-office systems, the sales associate can be out on the shop floor engaging with the customer face-to-face while having access to all the information they need, including stock availability. “Tablets with attached peripherals such as a barcode scanner and magnetic strip reader can provide in-aisle checkout or line-busting capabilities,” said D’Alessio. “Meanwhile, managers can spend more time on the sales floor training associates and interacting with customers, knowing they keep an eye on back-office operations at the same time. In the warehouse, Windows 8 tablets can enable store management and stocking personnel to do real-time warehouse inventory check-in and tracking with Wi-Fi or 3G/4G connectivity.”

And for the customers themselves, product shelf located kiosk tablets provide customers with interactive information and price checking capabilities, allowing store personal to focus on customers who are ready to check-out or who need special assistance.

“Retail-optimised Windows 8 tablets allow deeper customer engagements, while enabling increased efficiencies for both managers and sales personnel,” added D’Alessio. “The built-in systems management and security features of the Windows 8 professional operating system eliminates the need for custom software, and allows the IT manager to remotely secure, configure and manage the device with the same tools used to manage the rest of the IT infrastructure. This is a very compelling value proposition.”

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