A few global brands may be dominating discussions around the future of retail for the moment but with retail technology constantly evolving, the conversation is also.
If businesses can master the implementation of these new technologies, they can better compete with global leaders and boost their own revenue.
We will examine a few of those new technologies here. In addition, these and other retail innovations will be discussed by leading retail executives during the 2nd Retail 4.0 Summit.
- Augmented Reality
Augmented reality is one of the latest trends in mobile gaming apps but the use of this technology can spread far beyond gaming. This retail technology works by overlapping digital aspects on top of the physical world.
With digital shopping pulling some customers away from physical stores, this is a great way to engage your customer’s in-store. Augmented reality can be used to allow your customers to try on your products without the hassle of a changing room. Ikea used augmented reality to show consumers how a previous product they viewed in-store will look in their home.
These are just two examples and the global augmented reality market has great-expected growth potential through 2020. Get creative and see how you can engage customers and ultimately boost revenue with this technology.
- Staff-less Store Technology
Staff-less stores might be the newest trend to influence the retail market. There are many different technology tools working together to accomplish the staff-less operation. Some of those tools are facial recognition, deep learning algorithms, sensor chambers as you exit, QR codes and more.
Amazon is the most recent company to utilize this technology in its Amazon Go store. The use of several retail technologies has allowed Amazon to create a hassle-free, grab-and-go shopping experience. Customer convenience is very important for businesses to focus on and can help to boost your ROI.
Alibaba is another company using technology to create an almost staff-less store with its Tao Cafe. They still have some staff to deliver the orders but the actual ordering process is completely automated, making it more convenient for the customer. Alibaba is also benefiting from better data capturing and an overall reduction to staff costs.
- Free Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi is not a new technology by any means but the utilization of free Wi-Fi can be a new strategy for some businesses. By offering free Wi-Fi, you increase the number of visitors to your physical store and increase the time they spend in your business.
This is an especially good strategy is your target market is the younger generations. According to a study from Euclid, 53% of Gen Z consumers and 41% of Millennial consumers admit to visiting a store because it offers free Wi-Fi.
If you take this strategy a step further and make users input an email address to access the Wi-Fi, you not only increase in-store traffic but also collect valuable data. Both of which can lead to an increase in revenue.
- Window Display Technology
Window displays were one of the earliest forms of advertising and they are still very important today. Advances in technology have made window displays movable, interactive and personalized.
Augmented reality, which we discussed earlier, is a great way to create attention-grabbing designs. You can utilize this technology to place your customers inside the scene of your window display or allow them to view your products on themselves before ever going in the store.
Creativity is the most important aspect of any design, no matter what technology you choose, but you also want to make sure your window display has a clear goal. It might not always be to bring in foot traffic right away; some displays go beyond the window to continue the customer journey in an app or on social media. Whether the goal of your window display is to lead to a purchase in-store or online, new technology can help to increase your revenue through this area.
- Voice Shopping
Voice Search has seen a huge increase in the past few years with devices like Amazon Alexa and Google Home entering the market. Shopping continues to be a mostly visual experience but the adoption of voice shopping could be on the rise quickly, especially for everyday items that require little to no pre-purchase research.
Optimizing your products and website to be compatible with voice search/shopping is a great way to increase revenue as that section of the market starts to take off.
- Retail POS/Management Software
A retail point of sale (POS) system or management software isn't technically new technology but it is new in the sense that they are constantly evolving. When these systems were first being developed, they served a single purpose such as processing payments or collecting customer information through a rewards program.
Now, these systems combine several aspects of managing your business into one. In addition to the two uses mentioned above, this technology can also manage registrations, staff, inventory and every aspect of your customer relationship.
Having one software to complete several tasks can save you money by limiting the product subscriptions you have to pay for but this can also increase revenue by streamlining customer transactions.
The exclusive panel of keynote speakers during the 2nd Retail 4.0 Summit will dive into these and other technologies affecting the future of retail. Do not miss the opportunity to learn and network with executives from leading global brands.
For more information about the 2nd Retail 4.0 Summit and to request your free brochure with the complete speaker list, click here!
