An international sporting goods store with designs on conquering the U.S. market is playing a long game that could foreshadow the future of retail commerce. That France-based Decathlon, which operates more than 1,500 stores in 49 countries, launched its first U.S. store in Emeryville, Calif., in April isn’t a big deal on its face. Hungry retail chains plant new flags daily.
But in the latest departure from brick-and-mortar trappings, Decathlon is eschewing checkout lines for mobile point-of-sale systems and cashless payments. Store associates roam the 47,000-square-foot store, checking customers out using mobile checkout stations and iPhones loaded with point-of-sale (POS) software, says Decathlon CIO Tony Leon, who has been quietly working on Decathlon’s U.S. launch over the past four years. Store associates “help customers as opposed to being stuck behind a cash wrap waiting to process transactions with a clunky old POS,” Leon says.
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Read More from This Article: Death of a sales register: Decathlon mobilizes retail checkout
Source: News