Retail Industry Technology

Nowadays, the retail industry is facing great competition from the new digital channels, such as m-commerce, e-commerce and social media. Customers are more tech-savvy, more informed and demands better and fast services. The new dynamics imposed big challenges to the industry when it comes to customer service and operations and the supply chain as well.

MAJOR CHALLENGES OF THE RETAIL INDUSTRY

1. Fast adaptability to rapidly changing market trends.
2. The need to get the right price with the growing consumer price awareness.
3. To meet the ever increasing expectations of consumers.
4. Intense competition in the market with a risk of being substituted with another vendor.
5. Change in consumer buying pattern with growing expectation for quality service at competitive prices.

To overcome these challenges, IT has a very important role to play in the overall retail industry operations, sales and service and supply chain of the retail industry.

MASSIVE CHANGES IN THE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE

In itself, the shopping experience has undergone massive changes over the last two decades, particularly as eCommerce has won over smart phones and consumers have become a must-have accessory. Today, retailers work round-the-clock to navigate a digital world that continues to evolve at a dizzying speed, while tech-savvy consumers increased their demands for personalized touches, seamless experiences however and wherever they shop.

CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY TRENDS TAKING RETAIL TO THE NEXT LEVEL

In the increasingly connected world these days, retailers and brands struggle to find ways to attract to Omni-channel shoppers. Advances in technology have created an environment wherein the line between eCommerce and brick-and-mortar is blurred and quickly fading. Here are cutting-edge technologies that help the retail industry.

MOBILE E-COMMERCE BOOM

Mobile phones may no longer be cutting-edge, but the boom in mobile e-commerce definitely is, thanks to the enhanced strategies and technologies. By the end of this year, 25 percent of all retail sales in the US would happen through mobile devices. Take for instance the real estate on the device screen getting bigger, especially in iPhone 6 that drive success for retailers. Mobile phones and not tablets are driving 94 percent of the growth of shopping visits and 74 percent of basket creation growth. Furthermore, retail strategies today are focused on a mobile-first consumer experience, whether it is increased speed or responsive design.

BEACONS

With millions of shoppers having smart phones in hand, it’s not surprising that proximity marketing, via using location-based technologies like Bluetooth-connected beacons is getting to be more than a flash-in-the-pan as retailers find ways to offer real-time, more personalized messages, promotions and offers. Fifteen months ago, beacons were a novelty. This year however, retailers are beginning to take them more seriously.

BIOMETRICS

Biometrics, which uses technologies such as facial recognition, fingerprint systems, voice identification and iris scanning seems a natural fit for retailers. Banks and brands that want to boost their security and marketing efforts should consider this. Users of iPhone everywhere were happy when Apple added the passcode fingerprint scan. Expect more of this as marketers embrace its potential. E-commerce security could in particularly benefit from biometrics.

DIGITAL IN THE STORE

One need not leave a physical store to get a digital fix. Rather, retailers leverage a wide range of in-store technologies that are meant to attract consumers in the door. A physical shop is on the cusp of considerable transformation and disruption. Some brands and retailers are using ‘memory’ or ‘magic’ mirror technologies with RFID tags that enable customers to check out virtual outfits in various styles and colors. Bloomingdale has experimented with mounting iPads in their fitting rooms to enable customers to read reviews, ask for help and see what sizes are in stock.

SOCIAL MEDIA AS SHOPPING PLATFORMS

It turns out that social media or social networks are about more than simply spreading the word. In the past year, social giants Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest have experimented with direct ‘BUY’ buttons on their site. For example, Twitter tested the ‘BUY’ button September of last year with a small group of sellers and now are said to team up with Shopify, that has around 100,000 merchants as well as other e-commerce software companies.

Today, there is technology that help retailers learn more about their customers and could integrate the data with more sources to determine and profile customer personas. Brands and enterprises could use segmentation to make products classifications that are perfect for a certain buyer persona. While a lot of brands and retailers are just starting to understand the need for personas, using them would be a major retail development this year and a step towards the right direction.

It is without doubt that with the evolving technology, there is a ton of experimentation with digital technology across the board. In retail, it is really about serving the customers from the out of store online experience all the way through the store.

Ritesh Mehta is the Sales Director at TatvaSoft Australia, a Software & mobile app development company. For Over 15 years, he has been professionally active in financial management, software development.