As a retail technology company set for official launch in 2023, NOUMI helps retailers move from paper to digital receipts, driving several operational and cost savings in the process. Via its consumer-facing mobile app, which is due to list in the App Store soon, it is promising to connect consumers to the best deals around UK retail, with unique in-app offers, promotions, and incentives.
With key partnerships forged with organisations such as The Carbon Trust and Environment Agency, NOUMI also has the verification to label its solution as having greener retailing benefits for customers and businesses alike. It says the ecological benefits of switching from paper receipts to digital ones are real and substantiated.
Now, the twin task begins of building a body of retail clients that want to introduce the technology into their operations and marketing the app to fuel widespread consumer downloads.
Green Retail World (GRW) is pleased to call NOUMI a partner, and as part of a series of initiatives between our two companies, we bring you a Q&A with NOUMI managing director, Terry Knott (TK). The interview was undertaken at this year’s Retail Technology Show at London’s famous Olympia venue.
GRW: What is NOUMI’s role in the retail ecosystem?
TK: Our aim is to help businesses save money and boost revenue with our intelligent data analytics and digital marketing tools. If retailers are transacting at least 500-600 times per day, the NOUMI proposition, in most cases, will be cost neutral and sometime cost negative because the savings the NOUMI system will generate alone. Operational cost savings represents the first pillar of our proposition and every business wants that.
GRW: Why might retailers save money working with NOUMI?
TK: Saving on paper till rolls, printer maintenance contracts, printer replacements, and technological downtime relating to point of sale systems. A customer using both traditional paper receipts alongside our digital version said they like NOUMI because “it extends the life of their receipt printer to ten years”, when usually it would have a lifetime of around three years. Retailers can sweat their assets longer with us, and choose to retire from paper receipts completely at a time that suits them and their customers.
GRW: Why else might retailers want to use your technology?
TK: We’re also talking to customers about data analytics. We work with NOUMI-enabled retail businesses to encourage as many consumers to download the app through attractive marketing campaigns and a feature-rich experience that allows them to find discounts and keep their digital receipts in one place to help keep track of their purchasing behaviour – and for retailers that means lots of anonymised data to target specific demographics with relevant and powerful offers.
GRW: What are the other benefits of that?
TK: When we combine that with retailer’s own sales-out data, basket values, and SKU levels then suddenly they’ve got a powerful data analytics tool. If they know more about their customer profiles, they can then use our marketing tools to generate their own self-serve banner and flash ads, and create their own targeted ad campaigns within the platform. It’s measurable, too, so when it lands in the app we will automatically report back the views, clicks, and redemption based on each targeted marketing campaign.
NOUMI’s greener retailing credentials
Green Retail World wouldn’t partner with companies that do not have a dedicated strategy for reducing their carbon footprint, or which are not environmentally aware. Knott says the NOUMI proposition comes with a four-pillar approach – the first three are operational savings, data analytics, and marketing tools, while the fourth is ecology.
GRW: What are NOUMI’s greener retailing credentials?
TK: We take recognised industry stats from The Carbon Trust and Environment Agency, and apply them in terms of what that means if a retailer issues a digital receipt rather than using paper. We can show metrics such as CO2 and trees saved, the tonnage of paper to landfill saved, and water usage saved as a result of going digital with receipting, and so on. An individual retailer’s NOUMI Ecological Statement (see image, below) can be downloaded at any point and used in their own marketing, be it in store or on social media such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. It is verifiable data which businesses want, due to greenwashing concerns.
GRW: What else are you doing from an ecological perspective?
TK: We’re really interested in what businesses are doing in this space, and that is one of the reasons why we love monitoring the news on Green Retail World. We’re looking at ways we can enhance our contribution, moving from focusing on what’s saved to what’s contributed. We’re in the early stages of those conversations, but it will be related to connecting with companies such as conservation organisations and tree-planting schemes. Watch this space.
GRW: Is this what retailers are looking for?
TK: From a retailer point of view, retailers are finding it hard to believe that they can have all of this capability at a negligible cost as well as the NOUMI ecological benefit on top. Businesses say to us that to go green they have to discuss and get approval at board level for various schemes that are going to cost them money. We are delivering a better retail experience but the ecological benefit comes naturally alongside it.
GRW: What are the key ambitions for NOUMI in the 12 months ahead?
TK: To grow our app community – which is core to the success of NOUMI – we have to work hand in hand with our retailers to make sure store launches are a success and there is subsequent continued activity in these stores. We need to position NOUMI not just as an ecological solution, which we believe it is, but as a way consumers can save money and find amazing deals. We’ll be running B2C animations, in-store marketing activity, viral activity, and highlighting the surprising and interesting reasons to use the app. We want people to shop and say “I’ll NOUMI my receipt” – we want the company to become a verb used in the shopping journey and synonymous with digital receipting.
TK: The NOUMI app will be free to download, free to install, and there are no in-app purchases required. Our aim is to delight our app users with a great CX that’s frictionless and a reason to use it both before and at the point of purchase to seek out the best money-saving deals with NOUMI. The technology is used in several pilot stores across the UK, and more details of these partnerships will be covered on Green Retail World in the months ahead.
You can find out more about NOUMI Digital here
[Image credits: Green Retail World/NOUMI Digital]
