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Inside Outdoor | Winter 2015 74
an operational definition and that the
concept is best defined as “a socio-
ecological process characterized by
ideal-seeking behavior on the part of its
human component,” which is adapted
from the work of Russell Ackoff and Fred
Emery, among others.
Nevertheless, there are some that
consider the phrase a greenwash oxy-
moron. To many, the concept of growth
and depleting non-renewable resources
are mutually exclusive.
Triple Bottom Line
(TBL or 3BL)
The addition of social and
environmental metrics within full
cost financial reporting. In 1994
John Elkington coins the phrase and
in his 1997 book, Cannibals with
Forks, he elucidates this concept.
“The idea behind the TBL idea was
that business and investors should
measure their performance against
a new set of metrics – capturing
economic, social and environmental
value added – or destroyed – during
the processes of wealth creation.”
He also authored the term 3P for
people, planet profit.
Uptake (Sequestration)
“The addition of a substance
of concern to a reservoir. The uptake of
carbon containing substances,
in particular carbon dioxide, is
often called carbon sequestration,”
says the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change. Most trees
and certain crops such as potatoes,
rice and soybeans, uptake more
CO2 than other plants and crops.
Volatile Organic
Compound (VOC)
VOCs as they relate to environmental
concerns refer to compounds with
high vapor pressures (a vapor at room
temperature and pressure) that can be
potentially harmful and therefore regulated.
VOCs occur naturally but can also be
synthesized. In recent years, the roll of VOCs
in new home or building construction and
their contribution to sick building syndrome
has heighten awareness of indoor air quality.
The Environmental Protection Agency
maintains a list of regulatedVOCs.
ZeroWaste
An approach to the cradle-to-cradle
concept that includes reduction of product
or process waste and consumption, plus
advancing the notion of reuse, repair or
return to the environment.
wins out every time. But shopping also can be a pastime or
an activity, for some it’s even a hobby. Often, it’s a reason to
get out of the house. And within this shopping experience,
consumers seem to be telling us that they desire the ability
o interact with humans if needed or to just
have a nice environment to spend part of an afternoon. With-
in that context, online shopping is just one – albeit important
– component of the shopping experience
“The notion of different selling channels means nothing
to most consumers; it’s just shopping, redefined,” says Retail
Systems Research analysts. “And even though it is now pos-
sible for consumers to start and finish a purchase completely
‘inside’ the digital domain, retailers have learned that con-
er the social experience of the store.”
’ve seen so many online pure plays and
consumer brands open brick-and-mortar doors. It’s also likely
why “webrooming,” or the act of researching online and then
visiting a physical store to purchase, has grown even more prev-
alent than “showrooming,” and it’s likely linked to moves by
mass merchants to downsize to smaller, “marketplace” stores.
Fortunately, it’s a reality that plays into the hands of spe-
cialty retailers, who have the luxury of tailoring the store envi-
ronment (or experience) to relatively narrower audiences, and
hence can up the ante when it comes to personalized service
and selection. Yet, even so, specialty by no means can stand
pat. Even if online retail stays at around 10 percent of sales for
10 more years, e-commerce has had other profound effects on
retail. Namely, it has injected technology deep into the veins of
both the retail “experience” and the business model.
Historically, retail was a low-tech business. As a vertical, it
traditionally ranked among the lowest in terms of tech spend-
ing and typically was slow to adopt, generally upgrading only
when existing systems met their end of life. Fast forward and
we now see cloud and packaged solutions providers across the
spectrum of business IT with retail-specific business divisions
offering retail-specific solution suites. Indeed, retail has become
a leading vertical for tech companies to target. Research firm
Computer Economics, for one, lists the retail vertical as a top-
spender on IT in 2015.
It’s not hard to understand why. In the onmi-channel realm
of the smartphone-enabled “phy-gital shopper,” the benefits
once exclusive to the digital world are synonymous with the
shopping experience, no matter what the channel. Consumers
expect to have access to information, comparisons and sugges-
tions; speed, convenience and a wide assortment; personalized,
flexible and smart service, regardless of the device or location.
Make no mistake, keeping up with this demand will require
massive investments in technology and know-how on the part
brick-and-mortar dealers. It will require beacons and Bluetooth,
connected kiosks and smart monitors, interactive displays and
data-crunching algorithms, geo-location and mobile payment
applications, all integrated with the Internet, the cloud and
wireless networks.
In the not-so-distance future, and assuming consumers’ love
affair with the smartphone continues to explode, it will be hard
to find a physical retail l a robust
wireless area network ( torage
area network, a content delivery mechanism and a multitude of
cloud-based services. The upshot is that store owners, executives
and managers will have to become either at least somewhat
proficient in various technologies or they will need to hire staff
members or outside consultants who are.
After all, we can’t expect the predicted explosion in
spending on retail technology to go exclusively to a part of
the business that represents just 10 percent of sales. –MV
(Continued from page 6)