The rise of In-store technologies in the pandemic era!!

PART 4 – The rise of In-store technologies in the pandemic era!!

SERIES A

Problems can be seen as opportunities, and 2021’s challenges for the retail industry are no different.

The COVID-19 pandemic’s disruption has turned the retail industry upside down, bringing with it unparalleled technological innovations.?One of the most discussed topics coming out of the pandemic in every board room meeting is digital acceleration. With the volume of digital interactions reaching unprecedented levels, the demand for digital engagements is expected to hit the rooftop through 2021. Though having digital touchpoints will help retailers meet minimum consumer expectations, they need to look for additional capabilities to differentiate themselves from others to lookout for ways to lure more customers into their nets while at the same time keep their costs in check. And technology has always been a means for them to achieve both these goals.

Retailers, both essential and non-essential, need to alter processes across all business functions, with most of them facing supply chain and inventory challenges across different sales channels. While offline retail has been hit hard, online retail continues to flourish. Digital transformation and data-centric cultures will continue to disrupt businesses that cannot adapt to rapidly changing customer preferences. Retailers need to bring consumers experiences that they find engaging, accessible, and valuable. This is the age of experiences, where ensuring brand loyalty is super-critical. Retailers need to adopt and implement digital technologies to help them personalize, differentiate, and enhance the customer journey.

But it’s not just about the customer’s experience. Technology has revolutionized business operations from the manufacturing plants to the store shelf and through every step in between. Use of emerging technologies like AI/ML to understand customer data, Augmented Reality, Magic-Mirrors, In-store messaging and communication, Display Kiosks and RFID/QR Codes are aiding to improve the customers in-store and contactless shopping experience in the post pandemic era. The investments into these new-age technologies are not just stop-gap initiatives but are likely to yield long term benefits in terms of increased customer satisfaction, engagement and retention.

Below, we give you a peek into the retail technology trends to look out for in 2021 and beyond.

1.???Internet of Things (IoT):?IoT has massive potential for the retail industry, providing a way to create even more engaging and innovative shopping experiences. It is clear that with several IoT applications in areas such as smart shelves, dynamic pricing and inventory management, and a whole range of customer-oriented innovations within the physical retail store environment has the possibility to achieve successful outcomes. Several of these applications are already mainstream today or part of broader solutions and many more ae being innovated or piloted every single day.

2.???Facial Recognition: Identifying customers at the point of sale through loyalty cards is no longer good enough for retailers. They need to engage with the customer during their store visit before they buy so that a personalized shopping experience can be provided by giving up-selling/ cross-selling the right set of products /promotions. Most of the retailers do not have the luxury of recognizing every single face that walks through the door.?This is where facial recognition software can step in, by scanning every person walking in and identify them.

3.???Augmented Reality (AR) shopping: AR have radically changed the in-store experiences for the customers. COVID-19 measures have played a huge role in increasing the demand for AR systems and fashion retailers have been on the forefront to use these technologies. Smart mirrors are giving customers an unthinkable levels of interactivity. The “try-before-you-buy” approach is not only being used by offline retailers but also helping to replicate and even build on, the?in-store experience?online.

4.???Cashierless stores: The idea of queue-busting cashierless stores has been given extra impetus by social distancing measures imposed due to COVID-19. The ability for customers to simply walk out of the store with their items being scanned automatically and the bill directly debited from their accounts is likely to become widespread sooner than later. Retailers are increasingly working to develop an almost entirely touch-free shopping experience. Amazon Go?stores are a perfect example of these.

5.???Voice Commerce: Voice applications are being rapidly implemented on smart devices globally and incorporated into our daily lives at an incredible rate. Voice Commerce is gained popularity and is helping streamline the online shopping experience and is resonating well not only with GenZ but also with older consumers as they are increasingly becoming more sophisticated with online shopping, thanks to COVID19 lockdowns).

6.???Chatbots: are providing a world of immersive, feature-rich shopping experiences by allowing retailers to engage three-dimensionally with their customers. In order to stay ahead of the competition, it has become imperative for retailers to actively engage with customers 24/7. This makes the role of chatbots increasingly significant in a saturated market where retailers are trying hard to outdo each other in terms of customer service.

7.??QR Codes, Barcodes and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID): These technologies offer speed, labour/ cost savings, among other benefits. Each of these technologies have their own purposes and are best suited for specific applications:

a.??QR Codes: are being extensively used on business cards, banners and newspapers, coffee mugs, by restaurants and on products to provide an explanation about the product /services.

b.??Barcodes: Barcodes have been around for decades, and are used extensively in retail across all product segments.

c.??RFID: The technology has evolved enough to become essential in today’s rapidly changing marketplace. It can help retailers speed the transition to becoming fully omni-channel. It is a technology that is helping unlock value across a range of use cases mainly in: inventory tracking, store operations, and customer experience.

?Companies must adapt and use retail technology innovations to succeed in the market. As technology advances, there are many new niches waiting to be monetized and opportunities to be taken.?

We will be covering some of these technologies in detail in the coming editions.