Intel Retail Client Manager Offered Through D&H Distributing

What does retail of the future look like?

Imagine walking into a grocery store and spotting an obscure pink and green, spiky fruit you’ve never tried before in the produce section. With a touch of the finger to a tiny screen in front of the fruit bin, you can learn it’s a dragon fruit that’s white with black spots on the inside and that it has a slightly acidic melon-like taste.

Take this concept and apply it across all retailers and imagine the many product-pitching possibilities from there.

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The future is already here for D&H Distributing partners, who will have access to Intel’s Retail Client Manager software in the coming days to capitalize on ideas like the one above. The intelligent software solution offers digital signage evolving to a point where a consumer can simply touch a screen for more information. Intel said of its latest development, ’from digital posters and interactive kiosks, to intelligent vending machines and point-of-sale devices, retailers can deliver more targeted, engaging brand experiences, and capture critical sales opportunities when and where they matter most.’

The RCM software also allows a screen to recognize a customer’s gender and age and flash ads as a person walks by that might appeal to their interests. The solution would allow retailers to improve the effectiveness of ad campaigns through audience analytics, according to Intel, utilizing facial recognition capabilities to know exactly who is looking at a digital screen. It can even detect when a person looks away.

Jeff Davis, senior vice president of sales at D&H, said there are lots of opportunities for VARs to make money off the product, particularly in the add-ons. He explained how retailers will need screens and digital signs to utilize the technology and units to implement the software.

He noted the opportunities for revolutionizing SMB clients in the retail space are endless.

’If you think about it from a perspective of a small local restaurant in your area, just the ability while waiting in line to place an order and engage (customers) in different types of products you have, like maybe with a menu up on a digital display,’ he said. ’Instead of putting out new menus, you can put up new products. … It does help you to really engage with a customer in a whole new way.’

He said the ability to offer technology that can recognize who is looking at its advertisements is another extraordinary feature that will get clients excited. Intel calls this the "audience analytics" application.

’From the perspective of a retailer, … this is a way to do immersive advertising,’ he said. ’For the SMB [partners] to be able to go out and demonstrate that to the customers, with the power of how easy it is to use and create campaigns and display them on digital signs, is really impactful.’

NEXT: Upcoming Seminar On D&H Offering, VAR Talks Pros of Digital Signage

D&H is set to offer a webcast from its Solutions Lab Oct. 7 to launch the product and discuss its value further with VARs. D&H customers can register at www.dandh.com for free.

Jude Daigle, founder and president of Greensburg, Penn.-based PA Connect, is an Intel platinum partner who has been utilizing digital signage for years through his VAR business. He said the RCM product from Intel will bolster his offerings from there.

’When it comes to adopting, we have a number of retail clients. We have a lot of ideas on where it’s going to go but, … this Intel stuff allows us to take it to another level,’ Daigle said, speaking especially to the facial recognition software.

He noted his excitement for the new product, which he said is offered at an affordable price point through D&H that he can now offer to his own customers.

’This is definitely retail of the future,’ he said. ’We’ll see this in CVS and all the other stores very shortly, I’m sure. It will be the norm because it gives you more information. You’re standing in front of a product and you want to see what it can do. You just touch it to watch how it works. It can tell you when a product is sold out and will be coming back in [with screens placed in front of products]. … That’s where we’re thinking we’re going to be in the coming year, utilizing this technology from Intel and others.’

PUBLISHED OCT. 3, 2014