Tokyo, Japan – Global payment firm JCB has recently unveiled that it has partnered with business consulting firm iMago to bring together Chikazuite-Check, a new shopping experience that leverages ultra-wide band and Bluetooth low energy.
This new shopping project is a single-stop solution, enabling customers to pre-register the details that will be asked at the checkout counter, such as payment methods, the ownership of point cards, age verification for alcohol and tobacco purchases, and whether or not you want a plastic bag, as “check items” on your smartphone app.
The smartphone app and the store’s cash register device also communicate using UWB/BLE, and the information pre-set on the app is automatically sent to the store’s cash register device without the customer needing to take out or use their smartphone.
The cash register device’s screen for the staff displays the customer’s pre-set check details; hence, the customer and staff can make their purchases smoothly without verbal confirmation.
On the other hand, the customer side screen is a touch panel, and the preset check details can be changed in real time immediately.
Moreover, the smartphone app for customers and the store cash register screen that store staff check are both available in multiple languages, creating a system that can reduce communication costs due to the increase in both foreign customers and store staff.
Through this initiative, customers can skip the checkout process, including the checking of cashless payments, point services, and whether they need plastic bags, cutlery, etc. They can also verify age and identification in one stop when necessary through their digital ID registration. This reduces the time spent at the checkout.
For partner retail, the said solution also allows improvement in checkout speed by eliminating the need for troublesome verbal confirmations like checking payment methods and whether or not a customer has a point card. It also reduces in-store trouble and claims by preventing misunderstandings and mishearings.
In addition, eliminating the need for confirmation at the checkout and making the UI multilingual also helps foreign staff who are not fluent in Japanese.
Lastly, it further expands the possibilities of a new digital CRM using customer flow and payment methods.
At present, JCB is in the process of applying for multiple patents from its exploration into potential solutions for these challenges.
