Apple aims iPad at retail

Apple and Intel are both making a landgrab to push tablets into the centre of the retail experience.

Apple used an event in Sydney this week to present the iPad as a multifunction point-of-sale (PoS) solution.

Apple distributor Express Online hosted an event for Apple resellers on Tuesday at the Museum of Contemporary Arts, where Apple showed its support for various software-as-a-service (SaaS) providers, including Vend, Unleashed, GeoOp and Xero.

These developers' software makes it possible to handle transactions, track inventory levels, monitor staff and reconcile tills directly from an iPad. The SaaS vendors said the iPad enriched the shopping experience and allowed store staff to better meet customer needs.

Vend's business development manager, Jordan King, claimed Vend's iPad app had been download more than 7,000 times since February.

"But the most exciting statistic is this one: we have more than 15,000 receipts printed through the vend iPad app every single week. These are all sales that have been put through the iPad.

"We're really excited about where this is heading and for the opportunities this presents for the iPad in retail," King added. 

Apple declined to provide detail on its channel strategy with the PoS software.

Meanwhile, Intel and its partner, AOpen, revealed a new tablet dubbed the eTILE designed specifically for retail environments, complete with unique analytical tools.

Intel hosted the event at its North Sydney offices, where AOpen's director of global strategy and market development, Stephen Borg, claimed the eTILE had been designed specifically for the retail space – making it better suited to the environment than the iPad.

"We've seen a lot of tablets mounted in store. That's great for the user but it hasn't been great for the retailer... because they don't have enough power to create all these rich experiences and [capture] analytics."

According to Intel and AOpen, it is too early to discuss the channel plans for the eTILE. The first real-world example has only just been revealed, with building fixtures supplier GWA Group demonstrating the eTILE in Bunnings.

The eTILE works with Intel's AIM Suite to capture anonymous shopper information. Its front-facing camera determines a customer's age and gender, and then uses that information to generate the content they would most likely be interested in.

Facial recognition software measures how long customers are engaged with the eTILE and the anonymous findings can then be easily viewed over a computer.

"AOpen worked closely with Intel in conducting end-customer user groups in order to find out how customer experiences could be enhanced at retail outlets," said Matthew Jones, Intel's group manager for industry development in Australia and New Zealand.

"AOpen's devices will see consumers embracing new in-store digital experiences while also providing rich analytics of these interactions back to the retailers, brands and digital agencies," he added.

Intel expects the eTILE to go on sale globally on 12 September for $1,300.

What's in an eTILE?

The eTILE is powered by Intel's third-generation core i5 or core i7 processors and will be available with Windows or Android software. It is the first Android tablet to be powered by Intel's Ivy Bridge processors.

AOpen claimed the eTILE's durability made it an ideal tablet to be used in the retail space. In addition to being dust and water resistant, AOpen claimed that during testing, a 180-gram weight was dropped on the tablet more than 20 million times before breakage.

AOpen plans on releasing the eTILE in 15-inch and 19-inch variants, and is also considering a larger 21-inch model.