eyefactive GmbH

The Future of Retail - 9 Key Technologies

Whitepaper: How interactive retail technology is enriching the in-store customer experience. 9 key technologies for point of sale.

 

Hamburg, Germany -- (ReleaseWire) -- 02/10/2021 --In 2021 and beyond, it will be crucial for brick and mortar stores to deliver a seamless multi-channel customer experience in-store. Retail technology will continue to play an instrumental role in digitizing the shopping experience and achieving deeper customer satisfaction. There is no doubt that retail stores will play a key role in meeting customer demand, when stores are finally allowed to reopen. Retail managers are already using the lockdown period to enhance their stores and equip them with innovative solutions of the future.

This whitepaper draws on eyefactive's rich expertise in interactive digital signage to highlight 9 key technologies that retailers should be familiar with in 2021 and beyond.

1. Interactive Shop Windows
2. Self-Service Kiosks
3. Transparent Touchscreen Displays
4. NFC/RFID Tagged Smart Products
5. Touchscreen Tables with Object Recognition
6. XXL Touchscreens with Multi-User Technology
7. Customizable Apps for Large-scale Touchscreens
8. Facial Recognition as an Analytics Tool
9. Smartphone Integration for Multi-Channel Marketing

In-store shopping is here to stay

Despite headlines about "retail apocalypse", the majority of retail sales around the world (5 out of 6 transactions) still take place in stores. Several surveys confirm that shoppers are visiting stores more often than before and that in-store shopping is especially popular amongst the tech-savvy Generation Z (those under 25 years in age).

Customers expect a blended shopping experience

Shoppers flock to stores to experience the product - to see, feel and try it - before they purchase it. While they value this traditional aspect of the shopping experience, they also seek the digital shopping features they are attuned to. It has become second nature for customers to use their mobile phones in-store to search for price comparisons, discounts, promotions, ratings, video reviews and social media content. Tech-savvy customers also seek virtual experiences that allow them to visualize the product's performance in real-life settings.

With growing competition from e-commerce and as pure online shops like Amazon enter the brick and mortar space, retailers are under tremendous pressure to innovate and digitize their customers' experience. Retailers that successfully pivot to accommodate the new-age mobile-savvy consumer will find that technology can actually be a boon and not a bane for the retail industry.

Retailers are already seeing success with interactive digital signage

Retailers across a wide variety of industries have already begun to integrate retail technologies such as interactive shop windows, endless aisles, self-service kiosks, multi-user touchscreens, augmented reality, object recognition, product sensors (NFC/RFID), QR codes, mobile payments and facial recognition. The majority of retailers (80%) who have used digital signage have found that it is important or essential to improving customer's in-store experience, and contributes to an uptick in sales.

Read the full whitepaper article here: https://www.eyefactive.com/en/whitepaper/future-of-retail-9-key-technologies