Using Information Systems: How Brick-and-Mortar Stores Can Compete

This essay explores how technology can help brick-and-mortar retailers compete against e-tailers. It discusses the use of technologies like cashier systems, robot shopping assistants, employee management tools, social media advertising, smart mirrors, and RFID. The essay also addresses privacy concerns related to RFID and suggests ways retailers can alleviate these concerns. Furthermore, it examines how brick-and-mortar stores can avoid becoming too sterile when using information systems, emphasizing the importance of the human element in retail and the limitations of technology in replacing human interaction and understanding customer psychology. The conclusion emphasizes that technology should assist human work, not replace it, to enhance the retail industry.

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TABLE OF CONTENT:
I. Introduction. (Page 3)
II. Body. (Page 4 – Page 9)
1)How can technology help brick-and-mortar
retailers compete against e-tailers? (Page 4)
2)Privacy advocates criticize the use of RFID, as it
allows better tracking of purchasing habits. How
can brick –and-mortar retailers alleviate these
concerns? (Page 7)
3)As you have read, part of the “human element”
in retailing is being replaced by technology. How
can brick-and-mortar stores avoid becoming too
“sterile” when using information systems to
compete against e-tailers? (Page 9)
III. Conclusion. (Page 10)

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I. Introduction:
These days, the rapid growth of the technology sector has highly
contributed to turn the retail market confused around the world.
The most significant thing is that the development of the new
technologies such as social networks, mobile devices, and
solutions of technology which have created opportunities and the
new challenges for the players in the competitive retail industry
faces. Technology has transformed the business become easier
since people do not need to meet together directly. According to
the advantages of the social networking site, they can use the
technology as a bridge in order to trade and cooperate in any
businesses. Besides, technology always draws out several
significant challenges for the retail industry, which is to keep up
with the customers’ expectations, and also to look for the best
technological solutions for the retail industry. Also, the article
below will explore more about three topics:
First, by what means would technology be able to support
physical retailers clash against e-tailers.
Second, how the retailer does when their customers do not like
being trackers buying habits through the use of RFID.
Finally, which methods that offline store can improve the
competitiveness when using systems which contain lots of
information in the era of technology development.

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II. Body:
E-tailer (Electronic retailing) is usually an e-commerce company or
an individual person – internet user that mainly does company on
the Internet. Internet retailers that sell and deliver products to your
doorstep. It's like an online company, sometimes in some case;
some company do not have any physical store such as Amazon,
Alibaba, Lazada, TiKi, and Etsy. (Hargrave, 2019), (Hopping,
2000)
Brick-and-mortar retailers like what Matthew Hudson (Hudson,
2018) had said it means a retail location with a physical structure –
the traditional store. It’s like an offline business.
1) How can technology help brick-and-mortar retailers
compete against e-tailers?
The technological era is improving; technology has played a big
role in supporting brick retailers in fierce competition with
online stores in many areas of the retail industry.
Cashier
Since the development of technology, which has created the
opportunity for the cashier. Treasurer does not need to remember
the price of each item in the store. Besides, they can work when
they scan the barcode of each item to the computer. At the same
time, both the check- out computer will give the bill for the
customers correctly, and the billing and inventory control system
will control the sale and have announced how many items
remaining in stock to employees inventoried, which allowed the
retailers to know when to arrange new items on the shelves. This
activity does not only make shorten the payment process while
increasing customer satisfaction but also helps retailers lay off
employees who work at warehouse inventory with poor
productivity. (Jayaram, 2017)

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In additionally, the inventory control system allows customers to
change quickly, return items that they do not like, or be corrupted.
That is one advantage to traditional retailers when comparing it
with the return policies cumbersome of the e-tailer. Because when
the customer purchases the item from e-tailer it takes quite a long
time from several days to several months for an item to shipping
for them, but when they receive the item that they do not like, the
customer will feel that they were waste time waiting for a flawed
item, an item they do not like. However, if the customer wants to
return or change the item which they do not like or was cracked,
they still have to wait for the shipping part. (L.wilson, 2010)
These days, when technology on growing up as a higher level has
allowed the traditional retailers do not need the cashier or the
checkout counter. A practical example is Amazon Go, a retail
system allows customers to step into the store, select the item, and
then walked out of the store. The payment will be made through a
credit card stored in the customer profile. (McFarland, 2018),
(Alex Polacco, Kayla Backes, 2018)
Robot shopping assistant
The robot appears a lot in different environments around the world
as the shipping zone, the retail sector, the arts part, the health
sector, and others. Especially, in the retail industry, the robot is
designed to guide customers, providing information to clients,
identify items that need to buy with only a few prototypes or some
information described by words and gestures. In addition, through
the writings of the authors of the research on SAGA journals, the
robot also has a unique function is designed specifically for blind
people is to help them identify, navigate in the grocery store and
bring the items they have purchased. (Yingfeng Chen, Feng Wu,
Wei Shuai, Xiaoping Chen, 2017)

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Manage employees, customers
Today, while working in the brick-and-mortar stores, employees do
not need a manager to report the presence or absence they use
fingerprint scanners to timekeeping. This machine will help
retailers monitor the work shifts of employees closely. It also
limited fraud in attendance (Price, 2015).
There is no doubt to say that the benefit when using the camera for
the retail store. It not only helps retailers prevent the theft of the
bad customers. But th camera also helps the physical retailers like
Amazon Go to collect customer information and analysis of
customer choice, to improve the customer’s needs. (McFarland,
2018), (Alex Polacco, Kayla Backes, 2018)
Advertising on social media
Nowadays, to increase the sales of retail sales has been
concentrated on marketing will not be advertising in newspapers,
television, radio. The retail also concentrated on social media like
emails, Facebook, Instagram. Moreover, the retailer also uses
hardware devices as beacons to transmit signals to smartphone
customers. It does not only help increase sales revenues of the
retail stores but also help the news to the consumer user to mention
the product being sold with an attractive price. (Nilima A.
Dudhane, Sanjeevkumar T. Pitambare, 2015)
Smart mirror
In the last few years, the retail of fashion is updating the smart
mirrors for their store. This mirror does not only help the
customers see if the suit fit them when they dress up in the clothes
shop without spending too much time on the fitting, but this mirror
also suggests the items that are suitable for the body shape and the
skin. (Ioannis Pachoulakis and Kostas Kapetanakis, 2012)

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2) Privacy advocates criticize the use of RFID, as it allows
better tracking of purchasing habits. How can brick-and-
mortar retailers alleviate these concerns?
RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) is the utilization of radio
waves to peruse and catch data put away on a label appended to an
item. A tag can be gathered from up to a few feet away and does
not need to be inside the direct observable of the reader to be
followed. (Chang E. Koh, Hae Jung Kim, Eun Young Kim, n.d.)
RFID technology was invented in 1920 after the advent of radar.
Especially in 1940, RFID was used to detect aircraft and enemies
during World War II, but by the 1970s, new technologies were
widely used in many fields. However, this technology is the most
widely used in the retail industry. (Humphries, 2019)
Security
RFID technology becomes successful due to the high level of
security. Dr. Nayak had said on the news of RMIT school
(Humphries, 2019): “There are many advantages for retail. RFID
tags are not easy to manipulate or remove, so shoplifting is
difficult. They also precisely track the volume and location of
merchandise – even when it’s on the move - so stores know exactly
what product is on their shelves and where that product is at any
given time” (Humphries, 2019). This viewpoint had proven an
essential function, a standard function used in many fields in the
world. Typical as the port from in the library on in the retail store.
(Shahid, 2015 ), (Laboratories, 2015), (Donaldson, 2016)
Data tag
The RFID tag also allows retailers to track inventory. When the
product is entered into the warehouse of finished products, the

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products will be tagged with RFID. Moreover, that tag which will
give information to the server software, be saved from collating in
the future. While regular code scanning standards will do spend a
lot of time and effort, the RFID scanner can scan as far as 20 feed
with information is 100 tag for 1 second so the retailers can quickly
scan the goods on the shelves to check the amount of inventory
accuracy. The retailer can check all of this information without
having to scan each individual item. This RFID technology allows
the retailer can control inventory to ensure sufficient sources to
meet customer needs. (Chang E. Koh, Hae Jung Kim, Eun Young
Kim, n.d.)
Payment systems
The innovative of technology has allowed RFID and NFC on
payment services in the world. The benefits of this technology to
bring convenience to customers to go shopping without carrying
purses. This payment not only saves time for retailers and buyers
but also help retailers reduce labor costs. (Chang E. Koh, Hae Jung
Kim, Eun Young Kim, n.d.), (Dung, 2015)
Drawback and solution
Although RFID provides a lot of good interests for retail, the RFID
technological technology was deemed a lousy technology, for; it
allows the retailers to track the buying habit from their clients.
Some customers have objections on this issue. Nevertheless, these
concerns are alleviated by brick and mortar retailers in two ways.
Retailers can directly request when setting for RFID technology,
not allowed to record any personal information of customers. Also,
RFID provides services to customers that do not note any personal
information of the customer. As a choice, the retailer can request
the RFID researchers reduced the opinions of consumers by trying
to edify the understanding of customers about the benefits of RFID

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and provide privacy policies to clarify the collection of information
and how it is used. (Eckfeldt, 2005)
3) As you have read, part of the “human element” in retailing
is being replaced by technology. How can brick-and-mortar
stores avoid becoming too “sterile” when using information
systems to compete against e-tailers?
There is no doubt to say that Information systems have had an
enormous effect on retail. Therefore, many people believe that
technology is replacing part of the "human element." However,
people cannot deny the fact that technology is activated thanks to
whom? When technology will be damaged without the repairs of
human or "human element." The modern technology, machinery
will also be the pile scrap. As well as the retailers will stop
working if there are too many technological replacements for the
"human element."
The most interesting to discuss is the technology can never
replace humans when humans can face unexpected situations,
emergencies or accidents, and others. while the machines cannot.
Besides, these machines do not have feelings, which cannot
understand the complex psychology of customers and also not to
convince the customer to buy the product of the store.
Technology is only part of products that people have created to
help human society more and more development rather than
technology was created to replace absolutely with the "human
element." Hence, the store also has some staffs to take care of the
customer, people. (Quarterly, 2016)

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III. Conclusion
In short, technology is created with the purpose is to help the work
of men become easier. Especially for retailing industry, the
technology highly contributes to support the traditional retailers a
lot such as billing and inventory control system, Robot shopping
assistant, fingerprint scanners, camera, social media, beacons,
smart mirror, RFID system and other intelligent devices which are
unnamed but technology also helps Brick-and-mortar retailers fight
against e-tailer. However, if abused too much technology, the
retailer offline becomes "sterile" and a disadvantaged. If the entire
staff was fired and replaced by technology, machines, or robots,
then this is not good. Also, when replacing equipment entirely for
the people, then they will become passive or even less creative,
since the machines can do all the works of people in any
profession. Try to imagine that the machines which have no
emotions will gradually steal the opportunity to develop the job of
everyone in the world. This viewpoint is actually an unfortunate
thing which no one wants it happened. Thus, balancing using
technology and people is very essential in business.

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