Future of Mobility and Geospatial Technology in Retail Industry

Perceive modern shopper is tech-savvy and constantly on the go. With the help of technology implemented in community, storekeepers expect retailers to be just as up to date, if not more, when it comes to their retail experience. In order to keep up with today’s fast-paced society, it’s vital to utilize the technologies available to you, so you can stay relevant and have a lasting impression on your customers.

In the contest Mobility (referred here as Connected Mobile Devices and or Mobile POS) and Geo-spatial technology (referred here as Geo-location apps); offers Real-time contextual thinking aid concept are now thriving in Retail Industry. While Mobile POS enable store staff a powerful sales assistant, to help them with mix and match, multi-buy, automatic discounts and promotions but also offers better and more accurate customer service. Geo-spatial technology provides ability to communicate between retailer and customer based on where people are, what they are doing and even how they are feeling. It gives endless opportunity to retailer to attract their customers while running Geo-location-based offers, messages, contents and ads.

1. Mobile POS

The mobile POS is define background figure meaning  “mobile point of sale” .There’s no secret, exceptional customer service is still the key in creating a lasting and positive shopping experience to the customer. However, let 50% of shoppers today price check online, and 32% expect a retailer to be able to order an item not in stock and have it shipped to their home. Mobile POS allows sales associates to provide an in-store experience the consumer can’t get online, giving the retailer a better chance to make that sale.

By using a mobile POS, sales associates can effectively move through lines faster to create a quick and positive customer service experience. Sales can be rung up at the point of decision with a mobile POS and associates can up sell by suggesting accessories to buy with a purchase. Customers feel valued when an associate can locate an item not in stock and either have it sent to them directly or at a nearby store, offering the item they’re searching for. A long checkout line is the quickest way to lose a customer, so having a mobile POS allows an associate to hop in and make that sale. Reduced transaction time equals more sales and happier customers.

2.  E-Receipts

E-Receipts are booming in the retail industry because it gives you an opportunity to strategically market your campaigns with customized emails to your customers, based on what they like. A customer email address is powerful information that allows you to learn more and connect with your customers.

E-Receipts allow you to send targeted email offers and advertisements based on past purchases. You can target the same list with your regular email marketing communications to send your latest news, direct traffic to your website and/or store and determine what your customers respond to best through your reports. Additionally, you can assign each line item on a social sharing button so customers can instantly post and share with their friends what they purchased and where.

E-Receipts are a great opportunity to connect with customers; by sending them relevant information you can position the customer to continuously come back.

3. Geo-location Apps

Now retail customer increasing expecting their interactions to take into account their location, their current needs or immediate requirements, their last transaction details and their life situation.  Geo-location apps offer you to connect with your prospects and customers, what’s what and who’s where based on their real-time context in terms of weather forecast, temperature, sentiment analysis, display advertising, and coupon optimization.

While some of these features might seem futuristic, the fact remains that retailers should begin now - if they haven’t already - to respond to consumer expectations for real-time, relevant, contextual experiences.

4. Customer Loyalty and Advocacy

Customer service innovation is being highly driven through technology. It’s key to stay up to date on current technology trends, while continuing to provide excellent customer service, which is the foundation of your business. As a retailer, you can offer discounts and specials to tempt customers, but at the end of the day the in-store shopping experience trumps all of that.

The modern, tech-savvy consumer is the one driving the paradigm shift, so how to position yourself to the future and keep your customers coming back. The best answer is to increase loyalty and reduce churn, to cater this retailers should be sure to plan for the post-purchasing communication in the customer experience. Beyond a customer enjoying the product they purchased, follow up communications need to be absolutely relevant and targeted.

Customer service interactions, including product inquiries, warranty details, returns, etc., need to be easy and helpful for customers; these interactions can all be improved through use of online and mobile channels for distribution of client reports and other client communications. In this regard, cloud computing can be used for integrating data across various retails stores and counter parties, and for distributing the same through multiple channels. This would eventually lead the additional revenue and profitability that comes from keeping good customers loyal while avoiding the expense of constantly finding new ones.