tutch is an in-store digital platform that gives shoppers access to every product in a retailers’ product ecosystem, and empowers them to shop how they want. Pulse 2.0 interviewed tutch CEO Greg Jones to learn more about the company.
Greg Jones, CEO of tutch
Overview Of tutch
What’s the premise of tutch? Jones said:
“tutch is an in-store digital platform that gives shoppers access to every product in a retailers’ product ecosystem and empowers them to shop how they want.”
“Our platform is designed to help counteract the perfect storm brick-and-mortar retailers are currently facing, which includes the increasing prevalence of online shopping and the skyrocketing costs of real estate to manage and present inventory. We introduced tutch in response to these ongoing issues, aiming to empower stores to not only maintain their relevance in the face of these outside pressures but to actually create new opportunities to engage with customers and increase profitability. The platform uses a format familiar to most shoppers, combining the ease of online shopping with the perks and instant gratification of purchasing in-store, making selling more accessible and reducing the costs associated with stocking excess inventory.”
Core Product Offering
A customer at specialty store Between the Flags using tutch’s in-store digital platform
What is tutch’s core product offering, and what value does it bring to retailers? Jones shared:
“The centerpiece of tutch is the digital platform that delivers on retailers’ main priorities of increasing revenue, optimizing spend and decreasing costs – all the while delighting the shopper through a connected shopper experience. The platform can be displayed on a network of digital screens throughout a store, making all of a retailer’s inventory available in one convenient location, and empowers shoppers to serve themselves to access it all.”
“The content can be customizable to fit any type of store it’s installed in, or even depending on where it’s placed in a store, delivering an in-store curated experience. The platform also provides a chance for retailers to create an endless aisle, providing a means of accessing and purchasing every item in a store’s inventory, whether located on site or not. It’s easy to use and understand, appealing to shoppers with all kinds of digital competencies, ensuring that there doesn’t need to be education in order for the platform to fulfill its potential.”
“By having a singular platform that has the entirety of a company’s product line, answers to product and store questions, connects interested shoppers with relevant related products, as well as digital ads from outside vendors, retailers are able to generate new revenues from a singular location that only requires a few of the coveted feet in a physical store. It’s the store associate that never forgets to sell, always knows of another relevant product to recommend, and gives power to shoppers that are increasingly hungry for it.”
CEO Role
How did you come to take on the CEO role? What was your background leading up to tutch? Jones noted:
“I came to tutch earlier this year because of everything that I’ve seen working in retail over the past two decades. During that time, I saw the mounting challenges building against brick-and-mortar stores and saw how the digital technologies that were pressing against them actually presented a unique opportunity to grow revenue. It was there that I really leaned into the idea that any new technology introduced should not only create engagement silos but also enhance the connected customer journey across all channels. tutch is the perfect platform that provides the connectivity needed to check all of these boxes in one package.”
“This also tied in very closely with the work that I did before joining tutch. Previously, I served as the Global Director of Retail and Consumer Goods Solutions at Microsoft, with my primary focus being to look across the industries, understand the challenges being faced, developing and bring solutions to the market to help retailers solve these challenges – all in the name of scaling efficiencies and profitability. My time at Avanade as the North America Retail & Consumer Goods Advisory practice lead had me operating in a similar capacity, learning more about the nuances of the industry, the capabilities of artificial intelligence, the importance of the customer being the true channel for retailers and brands alike, and how to best help address its issues. At tutch, not only am I bringing an Aussie company to the US, but also doing so on the back of enterprise deployment of the platform and have proven positive results. All the while creating partnerships with leading retailers, and adapting our customizable solution to best strengthen them to be more resilient and profitable than ever, even while the market evolves.”
Challenges Faced
What are the challenges in your sector and how are you addressing them? Jones acknowledged:
“As I mentioned before, retailers are facing a perfect storm of challenges right now. Probably the biggest issue is that online retailers are continuing to gain more prominence, and shoppers are expecting the personalization and convenience that comes with those options when they come into a store. This is putting more pressure on retailers to adapt quickly in order to prove valuable to these evolving shoppers. The tutch platform brings those same conveniences and quality-of-life options into physical stores, such as having an endless aisle, personalized recommendations, and the ability for customers to control their shopping journey entirely by themselves, at their pace. This makes physical stores even more valuable than online, since it provides those same conveniences as digital-only storefronts while still having the perks of in-person shopping, such as being able to try items on, comparing colors and sizes, and more.”
“Additionally, real estate costs and other costs associated with expanding stores and storing stock are soaring. Retailers understand that the more products you’re able to display, the more opportunities you have to sell. However, when every square foot that you add to your store costs more, it can be a difficult balance between investing in additional showroom space and reducing costs and using what you have. The tutch platform provides a chance to optimize existing square footage to simplify the decision. Why bother expanding when you can rework a small portion of your store to access a nearly infinite amount of products to customers?”
“Lastly, it’s also becoming more difficult for retailers to retain the amount of employees they need to completely staff their stores. In these instances, the tutch platform can help lend a hand for sales staff that are stretched thin. Having a comprehensive self-service option that can answer product questions, show comparable or complementary products and proactively upsell to customers without the need of any staff to manage it can be incredibly valuable. Even in instances where they have enough workers on the sales floor to address every customer need at once, high turnover rates have left many staff inexperienced in all details of a store and the offered products. The digital platform can also be used as a supplement and training device for them, like by providing information about the store and current deals.”
Evolution Of tutch’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since launching? Jones noted:
“The biggest evolution for us has been the integration of artificial intelligence. As I’ve alluded to throughout our discussion, the personalization found with online shopping has been a huge boost for its case. Shoppers love when they engage with a platform like tutch, and products are automatically recommended for them based on their style, interests, previous habits and current trends. This makes digital platforms an automated upselling machine. Part of what we’ve added into the tutch platform are learning algorithms that identify these similar shopping habits, and help to bring personalization to in-store retail that never existed before. All of this is helping us move search away from being product-specific to being experience-specific, meaning that shoppers browsing on tutch’s platform can go beyond a basic product search and receive recommendations and complementary items based on their broader needs, which further increases the retailer’s value to the shopper.”
“Looking ahead, we are constantly exploring functionalities in our pipeline, such as how we can enable a single platform to act as a digital advertising conduit for outside vendors to raise additional revenue and also be a central marketplace for brands and products that aren’t even sold by that specific retailer, opening even more avenues to sell. The platform that we developed to expand store aisles is quickly transforming into an all-in-one solution to revamp physical stores and how they do business.”
Success In Retailer Stores
What’s an example of tutch’s success in a retailer’s stores? Jones cited:
“Between the Flags, a chain of stores on and around world-famous Bondi Beach made a name for itself by selling the latest in lifestyle fashion and found great success when they began selling a line of Australian Sheepskin Boots, appealing to both locals and tourists alike. However, they quickly realized that they were limited in the sales growth that the boots provided since they’re large and clunky products that took up too much space in a store that has a relatively small footprint. The retailer knew that if they had more space, they could create more selling opportunities, but instead of looking to add more square footage, they wanted to find a means of optimizing the space that they already had.”
“That’s when they connected with tutch. Our platform enabled them to sell boots that they didn’t even have in stock, making over 45 boot styles available for order. It displayed every possible size and style, all while only requiring a handful of display examples to be in store, and only occupying less than six feet of wall space. This extra exposure for the boots ensured that interested shoppers who were ready to spend more weren’t turned away empty-handed. In the process, Between the Flags increased revenue by 64%, while simultaneously reducing stock holdings by 28% with the digital screens.”
Physical Stores Embracing Digital Technologies
Why do you think that physical stores are finally embracing digital technologies–despite them being one of their biggest threats in years past? Jones replied:
“It’s not always easy to embrace the next evolution of the way your industry does business. Think back to Blockbuster; they weren’t ready to capitalize on their market leadership to anticipate streaming, even when presented the chance to take over Netflix. Moreover, physical stores that completely resist digital technologies are going to face a similar extinction-level event if they don’t adopt these new solutions. The physical store remains the core essence of retail and is here to stay. But as technologies advance and consumer preferences evolve faster than ever, the business model of physical retailers must also adapt and stay ahead of the curve.”
Retailers Using AI
How will AI change how brick-and-mortar retailers serve their customers? Jones pointed out:
“To see the future of AI in brick-and-mortar, look at how it’s being implemented already in online marketplaces; while the execution may be slightly different, the core is going to be similar. The biggest example is in the personalization of the shopping experience. Online shoppers have profiles built around them to identify their purchasing behaviors and preferences, with AI algorithms capturing tons of data to build out the most accurate possible pictures. In-store, we’re going to see the same. Technologies that can bring those same personalization capabilities to physical shopping will give shoppers the same feeling as online that a marketplace is designed just for them. This, in turn, helps the stores sell more products than before while increasing customer loyalty, who see more immediate value in coming back to a store that knows what they want, perhaps even before they know themselves. AI will be the driving force in developing the store of the future.”
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) size is the company pursuing? Jones assessed:
“Based on recent research, the entire self-service retail market is expected to be valued at over $90 billion by 2030, and we’re excited to be carrying technology that will lead the industry in that growth. There is really no limit to the types of stores that could benefit from this technology, too. Big box stores, department stores, hardware stores, even grocery supermarkets and pharmacies…they can all find ways to streamline their physical offerings with the tutch platform, and we’ve already partnered with a myriad of store types to prove that is the case. As we continue to add more functionality, such as with advanced AI capabilities, we will only find a larger market of the over one million brick-and-mortar stores in the United States, and millions more around the world, to be a part of.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Jones concluded:
“Our flexibility. The tutch platform can be adapted to suit any environment and for any use case in the physical store setting. Essentially when a retailer installs tutch, it becomes a part of the store fabric immediately, rather than being a square peg for a round hole.”
“Frankly, I believe that adaptability is necessary in this space. As I’ve mentioned, there are many different challenges that physical retailers need to address, and no singular solution. But having one solution that can branch into other areas, makes it a much more valuable package. You can have one stop for a customer that answers their questions, personalizes their shopping experience, helps them see and purchase all items in a store’s inventory and warehouse, manages payments, provides information on active deals and sales, and more, all while they’re standing in one place.”
