Dive Brief:

• HP announced this week a new portfolio of point-of-sale retail devices and services under the HP Engage brand name specifically designed to improve the experience of shopping, according to a press release emailed to Retail Dive. The four solutions provide "sleek, versatile and secure technology" to meet retailers' changing needs.
• The HP Engage solutions include the HP Engage Go Convertible solution, which uses a docking design for "seamless" transitions between fixed and mobile operations; the HP Engage Go Mobile system is a companion tablet device available without the dock for mobile operations only; and the HP Engage Flex Pro and the smaller HP Engage Flex Pro-C have modular platform designs with enhanced security, allowing retailers to manage their business from the sales floor to the back office.
• The HP Engage Flex Pro and HP Engage Flex Pro-C are expected to launch this month, while the HP Engage Go Convertible and HP Engage Go Mobile are expected next month, the company said. The products will be available through HP’s Device-as-a-Service (DAAS) offering.

Dive Insight:

Mobile has upended the retail world. Engaging with customers and keeping up with competitors requires a new set of flexible tools and solutions, which HP said it is providing in its just-announced HP Engage portfolio. Retailers have been asking for precisely this kind of support. A survey from IHL Group and Stratix reported that about 42% of retailers have mobile devices in-store but lack mobile POS functions for use by store associates. Over 75% of the survey respondents said they don’t have the right applications to make mobile successful for them.

"Retail continues to be revolutionized through IoT (Internet of Things) technology advancements. The next generation point-of-sale retail solutions are aiding the retailers to embrace the future now," Joe Jensen, VP and GM, Retail Solutions Div., Intel Corp., said in the press release. "HP Engage is reinventing retail technology to move the industry and customer experiences into the future."

Consumers also want more in-store technology tools, according to a survey from Bouncepad. About 78% said they want businesses to do a better job of using technology and 61% wanted self-service tools at their disposal. Store associates are another group that wants better digital tools. The 2017 Retail Associate Technology Study from Salesfloor reported that 25% of these workers said they haven’t been given the right technology tools to do their jobs.

HP isn't the only solution provider looking to improve retail technology. Another tech company, Oracle Retail, recently launched a service to better enable retailers to track access and manage inventory in-store using the firm’s Retail Cloud Service Platform. The service can provide information about specific sizes and colors as well as an item's location in a specific store if the search is being conducted across a large network of multiple stores and locations.