Retail Technology

The world’s biggest store chain owners always follow marketing trends to attract more customers and increase profits. Modern retail Technology in the IT industry provides a unique transformation in customer service using the latest digital systems and virtual or augmented reality. Currently, many key players in this market have long been moving to digital equipment for business management and customer service.

The New Era of Retail

Retail all over the world is gaining momentum every year. This leads to frequent supply disruptions due to the lack of proper control at different stages. The latest digital technologies enable the interconnection between supply chains, which in turn reduces risks.

The introduction of digital technologies in different spheres of retail is due to the following reasons:

• Growing customer needs.
• Changing competitive environment.
• Increase in volumes of deliveries.
• Variety of product ranges.
• Opening of new outlets.
• Transferring to a new trading format.
• Recent changes in the world due to restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.
• The rapid introduction and development of non-cash forms of payment for goods or services.
• The presence of smart mobile devices in the majority of the population.

Thus, the introduction of the latest technologies in retail provides an inevitable increase in productivity, improved service, a complete relationship between the consumer and the seller, as well as total control over the staff.

Why it’s so important to capture the attention of Millennials and Generation Z

Millennials are people who were born in the 80s of the last century and met in the year 2000 at a young age, which allowed them to successfully adapt to the latest digital technologies.

Generation Z – these are the youngest members of the public who were born already in the current millennium and cannot imagine their lives without digital technologies.

Given under attention that the future belongs to the younger generation, which is already starting to earn and spend money, all retailers in the world have to adapt their business management systems specifically for them.

However, this is not so easy to do. Young people don’t reject making purchases on the Internet, as they prefer to study information about a product on the trading floor, in some cases try it on. Because of this, a simple web page interface won’t help here, and retailers need to look for solutions to attract young shoppers to stores.

Many retail chains in the US and Europe are starting to offer these kinds of buyers interesting features. Among them, interactive mirrors in fitting rooms stand out. adaptive hangers and other gadgets that no representative of generation Z can pass by.

The main ways to implement software in retail

When introducing a new intellectual product in retail, according to the recommendations of experts, business owners should take into account some nuances:

• Regardless of the category of outlets, the range of goods, and the turnover of the network, it is recommended to duplicate the assortment of the store in the URL page catalog.
• In addition, the site must have the function of online ordering goods.

• All the efforts of developers can be reduced to an increase in the quality of customer service since the profit of the enterprise depends on the intensity of purchases.
• Before introducing a new intelligent product, it is recommended to conduct a market analysis and determine how effectively already integrated technologies work with competitors.
• Virtual or augmented reality should work in such a way as to maximize socialization while serving the customer. In such situations, a person triggers the desire to make a purchase.
• In supermarkets. self-service customers, it is recommended to follow the cart automation system. Such devices not only turn buying into entertainment but also greatly simplify the customer’s actions.

Nike has developed a unique system of interaction between a machine and a person. A potential customer can study the information about the product on the site, and then reserve the product that interests him. When visiting the store, his product is waiting in a safe box with his nickname.

The customer opens the locker using a smartphone, after which he measures the product and melts it on the card through the application. Thus, the retailer has the opportunity to serve the client with high quality without spending on staff.

Separately, we should talk about online stores. as their popularity is also growing exponentially. Many owners of chain clothing stores have long implemented online fitting rooms on their websites, which are based on augmented reality technologies.

Another important function is the use of neural network technology and artificial intelligence to conduct online consultations for each customer. Thanks to the latest data analysis and processing technologies, there is a complete feeling of communicating with a real person, which significantly increases the customer’s interest in the upcoming purchase.

An important component is also round-the-clock customer service in real-time. Retailers should remember that it is precisely the lack of time that does not allow a resident of a large metropolis to once again get to the store to buy the item of interest, and the work of a night online store will be the best service for such a client.

Why the popularity of AI is growing every year?

Primitive data processing with the issuance of a limited set of commands and answers to questions is a thing of the past. Today, random information processing is used, which doesn’t lend itself to linear dependence.

All incoming data goes through a high-density neural network that picks up intermediate values for a more human approach to serving customers. Thus, a high-quality online consultant can answer almost any non-standard question.

Retail Innovation

Among the most popular technologies of the future, which are beginning to be introduced into retail today, we can highlight the following achievements of developers in the field of IT:

• Retail 4.0. Latest software to improve customer experience and implement digital technology.
• Computer vision. A unique system that provides full control over the product viewed by the customer in the store. An automatic scan determines the cost of the purchase and gives a request for a refund when the item is still in the basket.
• IoT to power smart stores. The Internet of Things is a modern reality. The system consists of sensors, scanners that read them, as well as an executing device. The technology provides a complete relationship between the seller and buyers at all stages, as well as retail automation.

Despite the high achievements of digital technologies in retail, the industry is still developing and is very young. This means that if a company has already introduced new digital technologies into the customer service system, in a few years’ software upgrades and the development of neural networks will allow upgrading, which will have an even more beneficial effect on sales.