SPARTAN OKS CONTACTLESS PAYMENT OPTION
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Spartan Stores here and MasterCard Worldwide, Purchase, N.Y., announced last week that all retail banners operated by Spartan Stores in Michigan and northwest Ohio will accept MasterCard PayPass, a contactless payment option. These include the Family Fare, D&W, Glen's, Pharm and Quick Stop banners. “Accepting MasterCard PayPass at our retail stores will provide customers with a more rapid payment option that builds on our strategy to make the consumer shopping experience quicker and more convenient,” said Ted Adornato, executive vice president of retail operations, Spartan Stores, in a statement. Users can pay by tapping their PayPass-enabled card or device on the PayPass reader. With the PayPass option, customers do not have to sign receipts for purchases under $25. In addition, Spartan Stores will continue to accept traditional magnetic-stripe payment cards. Spartan's competitor, Meijer, Grand Rapids, Mich., has been accepting PayPass payments for more than a year.
LOWES TO IMPLEMENT STORE ORDERING SYSTEM
HICKORY, N.C. — Lowes Foods Stores, a subsidiary of Alex Lee Inc. here, will be implementing Retalix DemandAnalytX, a demand forecasting and order optimization application, Dallas-based Retalix announced last week. Lowes Foods operates over 100 grocery stores in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. “We see significant value in accurate store-level inventory and forecasting,” said Jay Schwarz, vice president of information systems, Alex Lee, in a statement. Retalix DemandAnalytX removes anomalies from the ordering process to create accurate store orders and forecasts, Retalix said. Implementation of Retalix Demand AnalytX in Lowes Foods is expected to be completed this year.
NCR TO SPIN OFF TERADATA DIVISION
DAYTON, Ohio — NCR here has announced its intention to spin off its subsidiary Teradata to holders of NCR common stock, making it an independent publicly traded company. The transaction is expected to be completed in six to nine months. The spin-off will enable each company to “better focus on their distinct customer base, business strategy and operational needs,” NCR said. In the retail market, Teradata supplies data warehousing systems while NCR provides POS and kiosk applications. Following the separation, Bill Nuti will continue to serve as NCR's president and chief executive officer while Mike Koehler, senior vice president of the Teradata division, will serve as president and CEO of Teradata.
CONSUMERS READY FOR RELEVANT MOBILE MESSAGES
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Although 79% of consumers find the idea of mobile ads annoying, early efforts at mobile marketing have revealed that consumers will happily engage in campaigns as long as marketers deliver valuable information or content, according to a new report released by Forrester Research here. “To avoid the perception of mobile spam, marketers must work with the unique elements of the mobile channel itself and the relevance of their message,” said Christine Spivey Overby. Forrester Research's principal analyst and co-author of the report, “Is the U.S. Ready for Mobile Marketing?” “In contrast to other channels, mobile is highly integrated into people's daily activities and physical environment. This means that marketers can embrace the real-world connections with relevant location-based services and campaigns that tie mobile and on-premise advertising.”
PAY BY TOUCH TO MARKET LOYALTY SYSTEM
SAN FRANCISCO — Pay By Touch here last week announced the general availability of its SmartShop system, which combines a payment and loyalty system, both based on biometric identification. The SmartShop system was piloted over the past year at Green Hills, a one-store independent based in Syracuse, N.Y. It will be demonstrated this week at the National Retail Federation show in New York. After registering for the program, shoppers can scan their finger at a kiosk at the store entrance to get a printout of 12 to 16 customized offers based on their purchase history. Shoppers scan their finger again at checkout to automatically redeem their offers, as well as to pay for purchases. “The SmartShop service has been extremely popular, and shopper participation is already impacting 50% of store revenue,” said Gary Hawkins, chief executive officer, Hawkins Strategic and owner of Green Hills, in a statement. “We have seen offer redemption rates exceeding 20%, and SmartShop is driving a significant increase in revenue.”
