Long checkout lines frustrate customers and hurt sales. Fortunately, new infrared technology will help manage cashier lanes for better in-store performance.

Irisys’ queue management system uses infrared sensors to monitor in-store customer numbers, average wait time, average line length, and overall store checkout performance.

If checkout performance slips below a minimum service level, the system sends management an alert. Sent to computer or PDA, the alert gives 15 and 30-minute advanced notices on how many lanes will be needed to meet customer demand.

The system has been installed in ten retailers across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. In the U.S., Price Chopper and Kroger are in trial, and global retailer Tesco, has already installed it in more than 800 stores in the U.K. and Ireland.

Technology is by no means a cure-all, but infrared technology may help retailers manage one of the most tedious aspects of the shopping experience.

Retailers need to consider: What’s the most aggravating part of your store’s shopping experience, and in what ways can it be improved?

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A 30-second commercial during this year’s Super Bowl costs three-million dollars. That’s a lot of money no matter what the state of the economy. MillerCoors decided it could get more bang – and viewer attention — for its buck, not by running a single 30-second ad, but by airing a series of ads lasting one second each.

The ads, which tout Miller High Life beer, feature Wendell, an opinionated High Life delivery man from the company’s current ad campaign. Wendell hams it up on a Miller High Life loading dock, stares into the camera and says things like: “Miller time!” “One Mississippi,” “Bonjour, Milwaukee,” “Back bacon,” and “Wojohowitz!”

According to a post on Consumerist.com:

“The brilliant use of the format dovetails perfectly with the beer’s brand identity. ‘Miller High Life is all about high quality and great value, so it wouldn’t make sense for this brand to pay $3 million for a 30-second ad,’ said High Life senior brand manager Kevin Oglesby, in a press release.”

By breaking from convention, MillerCoors is better serving its brand while creating an experience people are sure to talk about.

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As an experiential marketing firm, we’re always looking for companies that use experience to reinvigorate themselves. One such company is the Ritz-Carlton.

There was a time when the Ritz-Carlton in Kapalua, Maui, wasn’t much different than the Ritz-Carlton in Cleveland, or Tokyo, or anywhere else in the world. Today, though, the Kapalua location feels distinctly Hawaiian. That happened by design.

A few years ago, the Ritz-Carlton, working with the design firm IDEO, created a program called “sceneography,” which brings out the personality of each hotel property.

The program starts by developing a location’s theme – based on its geography and local culture. Once the theme is established, it’s fleshed out through organic detail.

For example:

The theme of the Kapalua location is “heart of aloha.” To bring that premise to life:

• The building’s interior design uses traditional Hawaiian materials, such as koa wood and lava stones.
• Guests at its spa receive Lomilomi massages from masseuses trained to speak the native language.
• Fridays at noon, employees perform a traditional Hui Mele (“group song”).
• Naturalists hired by the hotel prepare guests for rainforest hikes with a blessing chant.

The Ritz-Carlton’s Half Moon Bay location, near San Francisco, was the first of the chain to implement sceneography. There, the theme of “fire and wine on the coast,” is animated by outdoor fire pits, wine tastings, and a weekend hot chocolate bar.

The point, according to Jen Chiesa, Director of Public Relations for Half Moon Bay, is to offer guests something extra and make their experience a little more memorable.

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Recently, Jack Healy of The New York Times wrote an article, “Desperate Retailers Try Frantic Discounts and Giveaways.” In it, he says: “An era of desperation marketing is at hand, with stores and automobile dealerships adopting virtually any tactic that might grab the attention of frightened consumers.”

Desperation marketing. Sounds pretty severe, doesn’t it? But Healy does a good job bolstering his case.

Stores are trying anything to bring in buyers and move merchandise. Sweet deals, such as three-for-one suits from Jos. A. Bank and free antibiotics (with a prescription) from major supermarkets like Stop & Shop and Giant Food, are being used to increase traffic.

Even big ticket item retailers like car dealerships are getting into the act.

At University Dodge, in Davie, Florida, they have rolled out an unprecedented offer: Buy a 2008 Dodge Ram, get another Ram, PT Cruiser, or Dodge Caliber, free. Two vehicles for the price of one isn’t something you see everyday. In fact, it’s not something you’ve ever seen before.

Retailers are feeling the strains of the economy, but do fire sales send the right message to uneasy buyers?

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German outdoor retailer, Globetrotter, doesn’t call its retail locations “stores.” They call them “Erlebnihaueser,” which means “Adventure Houses.” When you have an in-house cold room to test the warmth of sleeping bags, calling a store an adventure house seems right.

In addition to a cold room, Globetrotter’s 7,000 square-meter location in Cologne lets shoppers try kayaks and SCUBA gear in an onsite pool. They can also test rain gear in a shower room that imitates a downpour, or get vaccinated in-store for diseases they might encounter during an adventure.

The company was founded by real-deal survival experts, Klaus Denart and Peter Lachhart, and the stores are staffed by experienced adventure travelers. As a result, customers receive knowledgeable product support and guidance. The staff also helps Globetrotter select the proper gear to stock, insuring product quality and relevance.

From a knowledgeable staff to terrariums of ant colonies (for ambiance!), it is no wonder that the company has 25% of Germany’s outdoor retail market.

Like Cabela’s in the U.S., Globetrotter is an outdoor retailer with a catalog that does more with its store space than sell products. It sells an outdoor experience largely by creating a powerful in-store experience.

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EZface, a provider of “Virtual Makeover” applications, drew crowds at its NRF Big Show booth.

Guests sat down in front of the company’s Virtual Mirror kiosk, which snapped their picture and displayed it on the kiosk screen. The guests then digitally applied cosmetics and hair coloration products to their photo, so they could see what they’d  look like with red hair or a particular shade of eye shadow.

Once they found the right look, they printed “before” and “after” pictures, along with a list of the products they’d used (in case they wanted to make a purchase).

The Virtual Mirror provides several perks for shoppers. No longer will they have to worry about hygiene issues around sampling pre-opened products in store. In addition, the application eliminates retailers’ needs for stock samples, and allows customers to try several different products quickly.

The IBM-powered kiosk is currently being used by Israel’s chain pharmacy, Super-Pharm. The product, though, also has web and cell phone applications. The web application has already been sold to major cosmetics companies, such as L’Oreal, Maybelline, and Garnier.

If you want to try the online version, go to http://www.ezface.com.

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This mirror may not tell you who’s the fairest of them all, but it can tell shoppers if that cashmere sweater comes in seafoam or if those flat-front khakis are available in 38×32.

Modestly called the magicmirror, it’s a mirror that’s also an RFID reader. So when shoppers present an RFID-tagged item of clothing or other merchandise in front of the mirror, the device will display information about the product such as size and color availability and guides that suggest other items to accessorize it with.

If the system, made by Avery Dennison, is installed in a fitting room, a shopper can use the magicmirror to request a different size or color of a particular item without leaving the room. Store employees who have handheld devices tied in with the system will get the message and can respond to the customer’s request.

Portuguese apparel retailer Throttleman is considering using the mirror. Prada already is using something similar in its SoHo and Beverly Hills stores. Mirrors in the Prada dressing room also use RFID technology to offer detailed information about the clothing brought inside and allow shoppers to see various angles of themselves as well as simultaneous pictures of them dressed in different items to compare which they like best.

Another “magic mirror” was tested in 2007 in the Nanette Lepore section of Bloomingdale’s New York flagship store. It allowed shoppers to have certain clothing items superimposed on their image in the mirror and also have video and images of them sent to the internet so friends could weigh in on the item.

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In their book, Greentailing and Other Revolutions in Retail, authors Neil Strauss and Will Ander write about a study they conducted with a thousand consumers regarding green in retail. One question, in particular, revealed an intriguing statistic:

“ . . . while many retailers are considered to be making a decent effort at being green, they are not doing a particularly good job of educating the consumer on what they are doing. Just 6 percent of consumers rated retailers as excellent or very good at educating consumers on green, while over half believed they are below satisfactory or poor.” P. 59

Supporting a cause or having a strength is one thing. Letting people know about that cause or strength is quite another.

Whether you’re championing green or doing something else to help the planet or your customers, remember that good communication is part of a strong experience.

Don’t think you’re showing off. Let your customers know what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and how everyone stands to benefit.

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Leave it to Germany’s Metro Group to get grocery shoppers to take on a more interactive role in buying Froot Loops and bottled water. The giant retailer is testing a cell phone application for use in its “Future Store” that allows customers to use the phone to scan items as they put them in their cart.

The app (called the mobile shopping assistant) also allows shoppers to locate items in the store and pull up information about a particular product.

When it’s time to check out, the program creates a new bar code that is displayed on the phone, which the shopper scans at a payment terminal. The advertised payoff here is less waiting in check out lines because everything is already totaled.

The store (located in Toenisvorst, Germany, if anyone has a trip planned) is also  testing a wine tasting counter that offers 16 chilled wines for consumers to try out before buying. Slightly more creepy are the two talking, automated robots that roam the store telling shoppers about the various technology and new ideas being tested there.

The cell phone as a scanner concept also is available to U.S. consumers. A mobile phone software program called Compare Everywhere lets users scan in a bar code with the cell phone’s camera. The app then checks the best price at stores in your local area and on the internet, as well as providing product reviews. Alas, information is not available on every item with a bar code and at this point the software can’t be used with all cell phones. Another mobile phone application, Snappr, for use on the iPhone, offers similar assistance.

It’s another bit of empowerment for consumers and a reason retailers should offer something more than price to differentiate themselves.

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