According to the retail construction experts at the Beam Team, there are three retail technology trends that will reshape how retailers attract and engage customers to grow their sales.
No industry has been as transformed as retail has with the fast evolution of technology. Further more, the rate of change is only expected to increase in 2019 and beyond. Today’s consumers expect on-demand service and to be able to get any as well as every item they need with a few quick keystrokes. To meet this real-time demand, retailers have been forced to implement a host of innovative inventory management strategies to get customers the precise items they want, when they want it, and at the best price.
- An enhanced omni-channel experience. The lines between the physical and online retail experience are becoming blurred. Customers expect convenience and want to be able to place an order online and receive it the same day through in-store pick-up. This requires retailers to be experts in inventory management, forecasting what needs to be kept on hand to satisfy both online and in-store purchases. Leveraging apps to allow customers to seamlessly place orders and request an in-store pick-up or store-to-store shipping is poised to add another layer of convenience that retail shoppers have come to expect.
- Proximity marketing may take Smart beacon technology has had its implementation challenges, but it is on track to finally break through the market. With retailers now being able to send push notifications to nearby shoppers, how consumers learn about promotions is soon going to change. Tapping into the “impulse buy” will be greater than ever, but only for those brands willing to invest in proximity marketing.
- Cardless and cashless checkouts are a step into the future. With Amazon’s cashless stores set to make their debut in the coming years, retailers are already exploring ways to offer cashless as well as cardless options to consumers. Whether it is ApplePay or PayPal at checkout, the prevalence of alternative payment options is expected to reach its height. Implementing these payment options now can be a surefire way to help retailers outpace their competition and offer the convenient payment methods consumers are coming to love.
These three technology trends are just the tip of the retail iceberg. Taken together, these represent the current shift in the market toward faster, more automated shopping experiences. Gone are the days of physical window shopping, which are now being replaced with casual (and always fast) online browsing. For brick and mortar retailers to compete with online retail giants like Amazon, it is critical that they elevate the customer experience to include both cutting-edge solutions like virtual reality technology as well as offering super convenient purchasing processes that appeal to consumers’ need for instant gratification. If you want to explore more retail trends, be sure to follow our retail construction and industry blog here.