Fitness product company Fitbit Hong Kong is aiming to grow its B2B sales via smart vending machines.
Offered by SmartRetail, the machines accept cashless payments, and not only track sales and inventory in real time, but can also scan consumers to provide personalised recommendations.
“For example, the machine may recommend a light-coloured wrist band to a young woman, while recommending a darker one to an older man,” says SmartRetail founder/director Adam So.
The visual data will enable Fitbit to respond more rapidly to consumer tastes through accessing transaction data, says So. Marketing messages can also be delivered on a screen.
IBM Hong Kong, which provides the technology for the units, says the visual and transaction data can also be used to enhance Fitbit’s sales analysis.
“They can analyse the traffic at different time periods, the weather of a specific location, and how these environmental factors can affect sales,” says IBM Hong Kong CTO Samson Tai. “It is also possible to integrate transactions with loyalty programs. The potential with this real-time data is huge.”
Showcased at the Hong Kong Computer Festival, the unit is still being tested, says local agent Leader Radio Technologies head of operations Ida Lee.
She says there has been positive feedback, leading to Fitbit planning to introduce the machine in gyms or corporate offices.
Lee says Leader sees potential for the units as the company has more B2C customers than B2B clients. “We have a stable retail and distributor ecosystem, and we wish not to disrupt it. Rather, we want to tap into the fitness, banking and corporate industries by placing our machines in their places.”