Moto delivers mobile retail solution: Handset vendor’s enterprise division finding traction

With its enterprise division looking increasingly solid – in contrast to its consumer handset division – Motorola Inc. said today it is launching a number of enterprise mobility products aimed squarely at resolving issues for retailers.
The vendor’s DCR-7X00-100R (this is retail enterprise mobility, after all) mobile payment module, costing about $500, or less in volume, is designed so store managers can quickly complete transactions for consumers waiting in line in a store.
The handheld payment device and other related products such as an in-store, push-to-talk solution are part of an effort by a new Motorola effort known as the Total Enterprise Access and Mobility (TEAM) Express Solution.
Motorola suggested that individual companies could design mobile point-of-sale solutions that would enable them to access banking and customer relationship management data to serve customers who use credit, debit and loyalty cards.
“There are never enough cashiers,” said Frank Riso, head of Motorola’s enterprise mobility unit for retail.
The company also announced a payment card industry PIN entry device – yes, PCI PED is the handy acronym – to expand the ability of its enterprise digital assistants to accommodate debit cards, as well as credit cards.
Motorola has targeted the ease and speed of retail transactions as a crucial area that can be emphasized to retailers in a downturn, due to a recent, albeit self-serving study it conducted.
In a survey of 2,300 shoppers in North America and the United Kingdom between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Motorola found that more than one-third of shoppers found that their desired item was out of stock, which meant they didn’t spend an average of $95 in a particular store. Six of ten shoppers couldn’t find their desired item and left a store, not to return.
Motorola today also announced a touchscreen micro-kiosk (the MK500) that can supplement retail staff by answering shoppers’ questions, such as providing a price check or inventory information.
“This survey was a ‘sanity check,'” said Riso. “We’re going in the right direction and retailers need to compete and can’t afford to lose sales.”