Evan Schuman's StorefrontBacktalk

The national rollout (the chain runs 635 Finish Line stores in every U.S. state except Alaska and Hawaii, plus 19 Running Company stores) is critical for the holidays. To play it safe, Ledbetter is rolling out the stores from highest contribution (revenue) to lowest. This way, if anything glitches, the greatest amount of revenue is covered, he said.

The pilot process was also done carefully, with an initial plan to test in 32 “cross-class stores,” meaning that the test stores are in different geographies with different customer demographics. But the chain quickly decided to add more test sites. “We bumped that number up to almost 50,” he said.

Loss Prevention
Ledbetter said the small size of the typical Finish Line store (about 5,000 square feet) and the rectangular shape makes it easy for associate to watch the traffic flow and to spot anyone who hasn’t paid. The chain also tags the more expensive products, and the various bagging areas (bag, tag and receipt) have the tools to remove those tags. “The traffic flow in our stores is much more predictable” than many other retailers, he said. “The stores are lighter (traffic) and more spread out.”

Tablets
Another surprise that the CIO discovered is how customers use the tablets throughout the store. “Our tablets are there to shop the assortment. One of the amazing things that we learned is that (shoppers) are not using the tablets to try and find the one odd color that we don’t carry in our assortment,” which is what Ledbetter had expected. Instead, they are using the tablets to explore in-stock items they want to buy right away. “It’s a blessing in disguise. We’re really not just slapping out an E-Commerce site on a tablet,” he said. The devices really are working in tandem with associates to push what is in the store, as opposed to what isn’t, which is how some retail customers have used store tablets.

Real-Time Inventory
All chains have the longstanding problem—typically aggravated during the hyperactive holiday season—of the supply chain black hole. That’s where the system shows five ultra-popular widgets still in stock, but those five are actually in customer carts or standing in line to be checked out. Hence, those items are not available for purchase and will not be deducted from inventory until a purchase is completed.

One of the future mobile capabilities the Finish Line IT team is considering is enabling associates—in the middle of a potential purchase—to click a button to temporarily take

the scanned SKU out of the available inventory. “We call it a soft reservation,” he said. “Our core systems simply cannot do that” now. But the chain is exploring adding it as different elements of the new supply chain systems go live, anywhere from 12 to 20 months down the road.

Automatic App Check In
To avoid the awkwardness of associates having to ask customers—at the start of a discussion—to identify themselves, the chain is exploring adding an opt-in feature to its mobile app. The function would automatically alert all store personnel when a loyalty customer enters the store. It might even include a headshot—maybe—so associates can know which customer it is.

“We have to tread lightly. We have to do it in a way that doesn’t creep them out,” Ledbetter said.

Even after identifying the customer, it’s still a challenge for associates to review that customer’s purchase history without being obvious and awkward. One option, Ledbetter said, is: “When customers come in and say that they’d like this kind of footwear, the associate will immediately offer to run to the stockroom behind the wall to get the product plus related offerings. And while back there, it’s a perfect opportunity to quickly review that customer data.”