POS News: Cognizant’s Assistant Vice President of Retail Consulting Says Gamification can Help Retailers Energize Associates and Engage Better with Customers

“By integrating game-based training into POS terminals, stores can energize associates—and engage more directly with customers,” writes Karl Swensen. “Given retail’s emphasis on customer experience, it makes sense that the industry is now setting its sights on employee training: 60 percent of retailers identify expanding employee knowledge as the top in-store opportunity for technology. Gamification helps retailers hit that target by beefing up associates’ skills—right at the POS terminal.” Excerpts:

“Gamification applies videogame mechanics such as leader boards and achievement levels to business processes. Game mechanics incorporate most easily into measurable tasks and processes that yield quantifiable feedback, making it a perfect fit for transaction-oriented POS terminals.

Take the real-world example of a national discount retailer’s pilot project. The cashiers’ improvement outpaced the retailer’s expectations. Cashiers scanned 10 to 15 percent more items per minute and reduced the average time per transaction by approximately six seconds. Their productivity rose by more than 3.5 hours a week—if implemented company-wide, this equates to re-deployable labor dollars of $16 million annually for the retailer. The pilot’s success underscores gamification’s potential as an effective, economical tool for inspiring associates and fostering a more creative retail workplace.

POS isn’t the only retail platform for gamification. Other options include creating product placement games based on store planograms, but POS offers several advantages. For one thing, it’s ubiquitous, and cashiers know how to use the terminals. For another, it’s multi-functional—using it for game-based learning minimizes cashiers’ time away from the checkout.

An even greater advantage for POS gamification is rooted in the terminals’ potential for deepening in-store engagement. POS gamification lets retailers observe associates’ progress in providing the richer level of service that today’s shoppers expect, such as accessing information on product availability or capturing customer feedback.

In addition, game mechanics can keep a running tally of actions on a leader board, displaying cashiers’ rankings within the store or across the district each time they enter customer feedback or complete a customer survey, for example.

When delivered directly to POS terminals, gamification fosters a more engaging work environment, allowing retailers to offer better service while keeping costs down.”

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