by Benefits of digitalization for retail industry
Digitalization helps retailers to tackle this challenge. First of all, tech is increasingly used to attract the customer’s attention. Digital transformation services also help the retail teams simplify the work and become more productive. It starts from classic online order forms to short newsletters, digital event invitations or social media posts.
Merchandising teams have tools that allow them to get information on inventories and products immediately. And marketing teams have a lot of new digital channels to communicate to promote their brand in the best possible way.
Autonomous shopping carts, automated checkout, mobile check-out, digital price tags, mobile wallets, interactive windows in the stores, AR/VR showrooms are only a few examples of countless opportunities that retail digital transformation can bring.
Digitalization of business: The biggest trends in retail
There are many ways in which tech is changing the retail world, but the following are the trends that will probably continue to shape the future of the industry. The boom of tech startups, growing smartphone adoption, deployment of 4G networks, have an enormous impact on shopper’s preferences and therefore, on retailers’ business activities.1. Smart Beacons
Beacon technology was first introduced in 2013 by Apple and now is widely used in various industries, including retail. Smart Beacons are small transmitters that send signals to other smart devices with the help of low-energy Bluetooth technology. Smart beacons can assist shoppers in finding their destination with in-store navigation.
In addition, with the help of beacons retailers get a chance to develop the individual client approach by tailoring personalized product suggestions or providing special deals to loyal customers.
The technology can send push messages with coupons to the customers passing by the restaurant or provide the information about the best offers to the visitors of the shops. And it is also a great tool for marketers as beacon helps them to reach the right people at the right time.
In 2016 the cashier-free store Amazon Go was opened by the retail giant Amazon. How does it work? You check-in at the store, take the products, and then simply walk out. The technology allows to add items to the cart and pay the bill automatically. According to Bloomberg, the retailer is planning to open 3,000 Amazon Go locations by 2021. The idea of Grab and Go technology isn’t new. It was first introduced more than a decade ago by IBM with its RFID technology.
Grab and Go gives them what Generation Y want – speed and convenience. The cashier-free stores are here to stay and there is no doubt that the technology will be developed and matured with time. It seems that retailers who have long struggled with how to engage millennials in the shopping process have found the solution.
Another example of using AI in retail is chatbots. Juniper foresees that by 2023 chatbot e-commerce transactions will reach 112 bln dollars a year. Analysts also predict that more than 70% of all chatbots accessed will be based in the retail segment. How do retailers use chatbots? For example, the clients of coffee giant Starbucks can chat with the Starbucks Barista app and place their orders via voice command or messages.
No doubt that the retail industry will continue to harness the potential of AI in the future. According to Juniper Research Global, investments in AI by retailers will grow from 2 bln dollars in 2018 to 7.3 bln dollars by 2022. Global Market Insights predicts that retail spending on artificial intelligence will reach 8 bln dollars by 2024.
Ikea is one of the first companies that started to use augmented reality. The company developed its own AR app that lets its customers preview what furniture would look like in their own houses. And a Danish toy production company Lego has set up AR kiosks in its stores known as “digital boxes”.
The technology can send push messages with coupons to the customers passing by the restaurant or provide the information about the best offers to the visitors of the shops. And it is also a great tool for marketers as beacon helps them to reach the right people at the right time.
2. Grab and Go
Grab and Go was pushed forward by the world’s largest retailer Walmart. In 2015 both Walmart and Walmart-owned company Sam’s Club launched applications that allowed customers to scan products and pay through the mobile app. A regular flow of customers at Grab and Go proved a real appetite for the technology so Amazon is planning to expand the concept.In 2016 the cashier-free store Amazon Go was opened by the retail giant Amazon. How does it work? You check-in at the store, take the products, and then simply walk out. The technology allows to add items to the cart and pay the bill automatically. According to Bloomberg, the retailer is planning to open 3,000 Amazon Go locations by 2021. The idea of Grab and Go technology isn’t new. It was first introduced more than a decade ago by IBM with its RFID technology.
Grab and Go gives them what Generation Y want – speed and convenience. The cashier-free stores are here to stay and there is no doubt that the technology will be developed and matured with time. It seems that retailers who have long struggled with how to engage millennials in the shopping process have found the solution.
3. Artificial Intelligence
With the help of AI, the software analyzes data, including weather data, consumer data and other information to make the supply chain more efficient and predict demand to avoid empty shelves. It promises a lot of opportunities for the retail sector. Retailers have already found many ways how to apply AI in their business.Another example of using AI in retail is chatbots. Juniper foresees that by 2023 chatbot e-commerce transactions will reach 112 bln dollars a year. Analysts also predict that more than 70% of all chatbots accessed will be based in the retail segment. How do retailers use chatbots? For example, the clients of coffee giant Starbucks can chat with the Starbucks Barista app and place their orders via voice command or messages.
No doubt that the retail industry will continue to harness the potential of AI in the future. According to Juniper Research Global, investments in AI by retailers will grow from 2 bln dollars in 2018 to 7.3 bln dollars by 2022. Global Market Insights predicts that retail spending on artificial intelligence will reach 8 bln dollars by 2024.
4. Augmented/Virtual Reality
The advantages of brick and mortar stores are clear. However, technology advancement,as well as the changing consumer preferences, requires new innovative approaches. Those technologies allow broadening the shopping experience to the new digital level that provides many opportunities to the customers, thus improving their loyalty to the retailer drastically.Ikea is one of the first companies that started to use augmented reality. The company developed its own AR app that lets its customers preview what furniture would look like in their own houses. And a Danish toy production company Lego has set up AR kiosks in its stores known as “digital boxes”.
Those kiosks allow shoppers to scan boxed LEGO and to view the product from all angles with the help of a 3D animated model. While the guests of the hotel are drinking the cocktail they can also virtually visit the Dalmore’s distillery in the northern reaches of the Scottish Highlands.
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