As we move ever closer to the festive period, many of us are thinking about present buying. You have those who have planned well in advance for this time of year and are in complete control. Those who start thinking of the food and presents around November and December. And there are those, like me, who tend to leave everything to a last minute panic in late December.
As a business, the holidays are no different to any other time of year. People with busy lives and differing priorities need options to make their buying experience easy. You, as the retailer, need to use all you have at your disposal to facilitate the selling process and enhance buying experience for your busy customers. So what can tech in retail offer to make all this easier?
E-commerce
Buying online via retail websites is now common place. It has enabled small retail units to access a global market, offering the customer convenience and a more personalised experience. The significant uptake over a relatively short period demonstrated in the 90s and early 2000s just how important convenience is to the consumer.
With the use of cookies tracking how we browse, algorithms and machine learning, technology has been able to personalise the online shopping experience and provide a detailed profile of customer needs and tastes.
Mobile shopping
Smartphones have become an essential accessory for practically everyone. With the roll out of high-speed internet across the UK you can understand why having an app for your retail outlet has become just as important as a website.
By taking advantage of the opportunities such technology offers, you can leverage push notifications to engage with customers and drive sales.
Depending on how invasive you choose to be you can use software that enables location tracking or browsing habits of other websites. All of which, of course, is subject to GDPR, but can contribute to a very detailed customer profile.
Augmented reality
Augmented reality (AR) is just coming in to its own and opens some exciting opportunities for retailers. AR is a technology that overlays digital information onto the real world, creating a blended experience that enhances our perception of reality. With augmented reality, customers can visualise how products will look before making a purchase.
In other words, your customers can try before they buy, with a realistic impression of how an item of clothing, furniture, etc., might look from wherever they happen to be using the app or website.
By using AR the retailer is able to address the disadvantage of buying products remotely by creating an in store experience. AR also supports the customer in store experience with, for instance, interactive displays.
Artificial intelligence
Now we get to the really exciting technological advancement. Artificial intelligence (AI).
Chat bots are one of the main ways AI is being integrated in to business. AI is capable of analysing large amounts of data which it then uses to address customer queries. By training a chat bot you can provide a level of customer service that is informed about the customer, accurate in the information it provides and efficient. By accessing the entire reservoir of knowledge stored on a companies databases, the software can cross reference and extract facts that might take a human customer service agent several hours. Meaning that the customer can get the answers they need when they want them.
By using image recognition and machine learning, shoppers can now simply take a photo or upload an image to find similar products of the kind they are seeking. This has made shopping online more convenient and intuitive. Moreover, it allows customers to find what they want with just a few taps on their keyboard or smartphones.
For the retailer AI is being used to optimise inventory management and supply chain processes. By analysing sales patterns, customer demand, and external factors like weather and festivals or other events, AI algorithms can help forecast product demand. This enables retailers to reduce overstocking or understocking, and ensure sufficient goods to meet demand throughout the year.
The future of checkout processes and payment methods
Many bricks and mortar retailers now offer self-service stations where customers can scan and pay for their items themselves, eliminating the need for a cashier. Mobile payment solutions are also becoming more popular, with mobile wallet apps such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. These apps store credit card information securely. This allows users to simply tap their phones or use biometric authentication to complete a transaction.
Even digital currencies such as cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are slowly becoming integrated in to some areas of retail. Digital currencies and technological solutions offer safe and secure method of payments. And such payments look set to become the norm in the not to distant future.
And finally…
Technology is revolutionising how we live and do business. Retail is at the forefront of what is possible with technological advancements. Whether a small or large enterprise, online only or with a physical shop, as a retailer you cannot afford to be left behind.