Finish Line is a clothes and shoe retailer with over 640 locations in malls across the United States. In late 2012, Finish Line was about to unleash its new in- store POS technology to engage more shoppers. Although Finish Line was initially criticized for the timing of the rollout, director of store applications and delivery, Rob Baugh, knew from the start it was going to be a home-run. From previous research conducted by the National Retail Federation, Finish Line knew an astounding 95 percent of retail purchases were still occurring in physical stores. Thus, an opportunity awaited retailers that could engage more customers to make more in-store purchases. Baugh knew the goal of the POS system was to provide service to the customer, when the customer needed it. Before Finish Line could make any technological improvements, it required network upgrades and additional wireless access points. Mobile receipt printers were placed throughout stores to aid sales associates performing mobile POS transactions. To leverage the opportunity at hand, Finish Line implemented a mobile POS system to aid and engage shoppers through their entire in-store shopping experience. To enable mobile payments, it upgraded its POS system to a platform from MICROS Systems and implemented a customer engagement solution from VeriFone. Their new electronic payment options included magnetic stripe and PIN-based debit/credit cards, chip- enabled smartcards, and mobile payments. The multimedia processors were high-speed, color, and supported full-motion video for additional shopper appeal. iPod Touch devices used Micros’ MyStore application and VerFone’s PAYware Mobile Enterprise software, which supported all device transaction functionality. High confidence in the success of the new system led to a 36-store, 3-month pilot program from May to August. Each store featured five mobile devices that could process a variety of business activities. Customers appreciated using the mobile POS units to interact with sales associates. The overall results of the pilot were very positive and one month later, the positive results led to a companywide roll-out, right before the crucial holiday season. Finish Line issued five devices per store and added barcode scanners to allow users to conduct price checking and inventory management processes. Transactions completed on the mobile units are sent through the retailer’s centralized system to consolidate its sales and inventory data. Finish Line’s new POS system and mobile payments acceptance has changed its in-store shopping experience. Finish Line did its research and pursued an opportunity to change instore consumers’ shopping experience and put the customer first. Thinking About the Case 

1. Why do retailers want to provide customers with more product/service information when they come into a retail store? 

2. How does Finish Line put the customer first? 

3. Why is it important to monitor the results of newly implemented technology, even when it is previously deemed successful? 

4. Would you be more inclined to shop at Finish Line or one of their competitors, and why?