High-tech store technology

László Körmöczi, the managing director of Carrier Retail Cooling Technology is of the opinion that online shopping, ‘drive-through’ and the so-called pick pack points all pose a challenge to traditional forms of retail. The answer to these can only be something online shopping can’t give to customers: an impressive store environment that motivates for buying. Small downtown shops are more and more popular. In these stores wall-mounted shelves and freezers have to make optimal space use possible. In the Carrier Mendos® and MenEco® XU product lines – which we introduced at the 2014 Euroshop trade show – there are 400mm shelves with 755mm furniture depth and 320mm front height. Environmental considerations are increasingly important in store furnishing too. Carrier helps partners cut their energy use and reduce their environmental impact. The company has already installed more than 1,400 CO2OLtec® systems all over Europe. Recently they have even opened a CO2OL Academy at the company’s research centre in Mainz. In Hungary there are two CO2OLtec® and three Hybridcool® systems up and running. Mr Körmöczi emphasised that they also provide full-scale maintenance and repair services. He told that many partners profit from the benefits of Carrier’s E*Services – these are energy-efficient solutions customised to meet individual store needs. People are shopping more consciously than they used to and they want up-to-date information on shops and products. Stores need to use new-type solutions to satisfy this demand – informed Dávid Szabó, the CEO of Szintézis ZRt. He told that their most sought-after solutions are electronic shelf labels, different POS terminals, kiosks, in-store price checkers and interactive shop windows. Demand is especially great for market leader Pricer electronic shelf labels. These days shoppers bring their shopping lists with them on their mobiles and if they would like to know more about a certain product, they scan its QR code or search for it on the internet. Extra information can also be offered to them on Pricer shelf labels, e.g. the list of allergens a product contains. Mr Szabó opines that automatic cash registers, touchscreen cash register systems, mobile payment, digital change return trays, handheld scanners assisting in shopping, RFID, recipe kiosks and the like can all increase the shopping experience and make everyday work easier for store staff. It is one of Szintézis ZRt.’s biggest advantages that they install full retail systems: SZIKE stock management system, POS Back Office System, PC-based Cronis Cash Register System, standardised premium-category hardware, electronic shelf labels, ‘future store’ solutions, etc.