GS1 Databar Update

The Joint Industry Coupon Committee, JICC, which includes representatives from Grocery Manufacturers Association, Food Marketing Institute, National Grocers Association, National Association of Chain Drug Stores and GS1 US, adopted the "expanded stacked" version of the DataBar, to replace the UPC-A bar code on coupons in 2007.
 
Since 2008, coupons have included both the DataBar and the traditional UPC-A bar code, an interim format intended to ease the transition to DataBar-only coupons.
 
Recently the percentages of GS1 only coupons have risen steadily overtaking the number of dual bar coded coupons. In a recent Sunday newspaper insert 36 of the 54 coupons contained only the GS1 formatted barcode. With this increase your store needs to support this new format or manually enter the coupon amounts.  Being unable to accept these coupons will slow the lines, open the chance for fraud, as well as the chance for increasing errors.  This changeover was originally scheduled for January of 2010 and then rescheduled for January 2011 when several of the parties involved were unable to make the first deadline.  Unofficially the start would have been last July 2011, which also came and went.  Now the number of GS1 only coupons indicates the change is occurring.  Make sure your store can scan these coupons and make use of the technologies that have been developed. Call or email STCR Sales today for assistance in finding if your system is ready!

For a more detailed breakdown of the GS1 barcode format take a look at the STCR Newsletter archives at this link:

http://support.stcr.com/Newsletter/Mar_11_Newsletter.htm#GS1

Good Interview Questions

It’s said that a business is only as good as its people and small business owners recognize how good employees help to make their business successful.  The interview is one of the most important steps in finding good people for your business and asking the right questions will help a small business owner pick the best candidates.

Some questions to ask when interviewing a potential employee:

Give an example of a time you had to make a quick decision or adapt quickly.  In small business responsibilities are shared and the need to make quick decisions and respond quickly to situations is vital to the success of the business.

Give an example of a time when you exceeded expectations.  This question not only allows the candidate to brag about their accomplishments but also allows you to see their approach to problems and thought processes.

How have you demonstrated initiative and a willingness to work in the past?  When you ask this you are really asking the candidate if they can take action whether you are there or not.  Small businesses need people who can step in smoothly and flawlessly in your absence – sometimes this can mean staying late or doing things that aren’t in the job description.

Why should I hire you?  This offers the candidate a chance to discuss talents you might not have thought to ask about and also to show how persuasive they can be.  Small businesses are faced with many situations where they are competing for resources, business, money, or more and the ability to persuade others is a boon to any business.

IBM® SurePOS™ 300 Series Model 350

The IBM® SurePOS™ 300 Series Model 350 is for retailers who need small, versatile point-of-sale systems with advanced technology to drive high-demand store solutions, with the lowest possible risk and cost. Built with unique features such as the Intel™ Celeron™ T3100 mobile processor and solid-state drive options, the new SurePOS™ 300 packs 60% more performance power without additional energy consumption.

The Next-generation technology of the Intel™ Celeron™ T3100 mobile processor enables better high-demand customer service solutions. Solid-state drive options (one or two) offer opportunity to increase reliability and improve performance. The NVRAM option enables 4690 OS V6.31 Enhanced terminal support.

The energy-efficient deep-sleep lanes are ready to use in seconds. Mobile, earth-friendly technology and an 80 PLUS Gold efficient power supply promotes greener business while recyclable packaging helps reduce waste.

By being the smallest IBM POS™ it saves valuable selling space while providing remarkable versatility and flexible choices for placement to compliment the store image and customer experience.

Reprinted from the IBM Web.

Customer Experience

Retailers are constantly competing for customers and customer loyalty. There are many different ways to attract and retain customers. The obvious way is price. Price matters, but so does product availability, brand loyalty and advertising. The factor that contributes most to a successful sale is the customer’s shopping experience. When a shopper has a great experience, loyalty is created. Study has shown that customers will accept less selection, travel a longer distance and even pay more to have a better shopping experience. Here are five ideas that will help a retailer to create a successful shopping experience.

1.  The first step is to understand the shoppers’ expectations so you could have a plan to exceed their expectations. This may sound obvious but there is no one-size-fits-all. Retailers must meet and exceed individual shopper’s expectation without creating distraction. For example, you want to let the shoppers know that help is available. However, constantly asking them if they need assistance may create the opposite effect.
2. Increase pre-sale experience. Before a retailer could offer a better shopping experience to their customers, they have to draw customers to the store. Advertising, brand messages, store locations and exterior signage are among the important pre-sale experiences that help shape consumer expectations prior to in-store sale. Inside the store, features like merchandising strategies, interior signage, tags, employee dress code and checkout process further contribute to a successful shopping experience.
3. The most powerful factor that could shape the consumer’s experience is the store’s staff. Of all the factors, what the employees do, how they dress, what they say, how they say it and when they say it have the greatest impact on the shopping experience. It is the human touch that makes the greatest difference. Consequently, retails must not only evaluate employee’s current contributions but discover how to increase their motivation, reinforce positive behavior that contributes to shopping experience and discourage behavior that doesn’t.
4. Define the experience. The essence of defining the shopper experience lies in taking steps that will increase the trust that consumers feel for the store and the relationship the store establishes with their shoppers. The theme must have substance and be credible and demonstrable. Some of the tangible services include carry-out service, personal shopper, house accounts and home delivery.
5. After defining and identifying the above elements, the retailer must ensure that each element is in alignment with the desired shopping experience. You must ask “How does this element contribute to the customer’s expectation and experience?” A single inconsistency can be serious enough to undermine the consumer trust and credibility.

To design and deliver a successful consumer experience thoughtful assessment of customer needs is required. A thorough evaluation of the current environment and a clear vision make a significant difference in the subsequent performance of the retailer and in the clarity of the message that each sign, advertisement and employee communicates to the customer.

Digital Coupons

In a study by GfK Knowledge Networks, a full service research firm, shows that digital coupon users shop more frequently and spend significantly more during each trip than the average consumer

The study looked at the shopping behavior of over 200,000 households that use digital coupons. Thee households were identified as having redeemed coupons from Coupons.com or one of the many websites in the Coupons.com digital coupon network.

The study showed the following:

• Digital coupon users make 22 percent more shopping trips per year.
• Digital coupon users spend 23 percent more per shopping trip.
• Digital coupon users spend 49 percent more per year.
• Digital coupon users make 48 percent more trips to stock up.

More than 55.7 million American consumers are now using online coupons, representing 25 percent of the U.S. population.

EMV - Europay, Mastercard and VISA

You may have heard the initial EMV and be wondering what does that stand for?  It stands for Europay, MasterCard and VISA.  The three financial institutions worked to put together a standard for an EMV card.  An EMV smart card is a plastic card with at least one embedded integrated chip that will process data and comply with the EMV technical standards.

You may have heard the phrase Chip and Pin used along with or interchangeably with EMV.  Actually Chip and Pin is a type of EMV card that uses a personal identification number to identify the cardholder when the transaction is taken offline.  Since nearly all transactions today, in the U.S., are taken online the EMV cards they may be authenticated by other means such as a signature.  Please take note that Visa has announced plans to institute a liability shift in the U.S. for October 1^st 2015 for locations and processors that are not prepared to accept the EMV secure cards the paragraph below was taken from the Visa Bulletin of August 9^th 2011 which can be view in entirety at this web site: http://usa.visa.com/download/merchants/bulletin-us-participation-liability-shift-080911.pdf

Visa’s Counterfeit Liability Shift Policies

Visa intends to institute a liability shift in the U.S. for domestic and cross-border counterfeit transactions effective 1 October 2015. Visa’s global POS counterfeit liability shift policies are designed to encourage EMV chip card issuance and acceptance in participating geographical regions, effectively creating a more secure environment for transactions within and between each participating Visa region. Note: The liability shift encourages chip transactions because any chip-on-chip transaction (i.e., a chip card read by a chip terminal) provides dynamic authentication data, which helps to better protect all parties.

With this type of liability shift, the party that is the cause of a chip-on-chip transaction not occurring (i.e., either the issuer or the merchant’s acquirer) will be financially liable for any resulting card-present counterfeit fraud losses. When a transaction occurs using chip technology, any liability for counterfeit fraud, though unlikely, would follow current Visa Operating Regulations.

The policy assigns liability for counterfeit fraud to the party that has not made the investment in EMV chip cards (issuers) or terminals (merchants’ acquirers). The policy encourages wider deployment of EMV cards and terminals.

Organic Food Industry

Organic foods now occupy prominent shelf space in the produce and dairy aisles of most mainstream U.S. food retailers.  Organic refers to the way agricultural products and foods are grown and processed. Organic production is based on a system of farming that maintains and replenishes soil fertility without the use of toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilizers.

The Organic Trade Association’s 2011 Organic Industry Survey showed that the organic industry grew at a rate of nearly eight percent in 2010, with the growth being over $28.6 billion.  Some facts from that survey are:

• U.S. sales of organic food and beverages have grown from $1 billion in 1990 to $26.7 billion in 2010.  
• Organic food and beverage sales represented approximately 4 percent of overall food and beverage sales in 2010. Leading were organic fruits and vegetables, now representing over 11 percent of all U.S. fruit and vegetable sales.
• Organic non-food sales grew 9.7 percent in 2010, to reach $1.97 billion.
• Mass market retailers (mainstream supermarkets, club/warehouse stores, and mass merchandisers) in 2010 sold 54 percent of organic food. Natural retailers were next, selling 39 percent of total organic food sales.