With the extraordinary expansion in the internet spread and affluence of gadgets like mobile and tablet, online purchasing of goods, i.e., digital retail, has become new normal, especially for millesimal. It has formed a menace to the existence of physical stores.
The retail industry has been massively benefited from digital technologies today, especially by using an AI (artificial intelligence). Artificial intelligence develops chances for retailers to fill in the voids between physical and virtual sales trench.
It has entirely recast the way people control retail experience - from the customer’s viewpoint and the business standpoint.
Proprietors in the retail industry are escalating the use of artificial intelligence to:
- Minimize cost
- Enhance efficiency
- Accomplish functional agility
- Speed up the decision-making process
As per a report by WHO, on 3 April 2020, digital technologies should be used in businesses to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has triggered an unusual need for digital technology solutions throughout the world.
Appealing the users using these new schemes like digital shopping may be subject to enhanced communications and call-ins’ to local stores.
According to Harvard Business Review - The rate of users who shop through multi-channels is 73%.
The revenue generated by implementing these modern technologies into your business like AR (Augmented Reality), VR (Virtual Reality), Visual Search, cloud computing, etc. is multiple times more than that of the investment.
82% of smartphone users consult their mobile phones while standing in an outlet to shop for a product. One out of every ten purchases a different product which they’d planned.
69% of online customers accept that the timing, relevance, or quality of the organization’s message powers their knowledge of a brand. - Think with Google.
Examples of digital technologies in retail stores
Now let’s look into some of the prominent retail examples across the planet. Also, analyze how these digital technologies prove to be of considerable significance to the businessmen and attract more customers to rapture brand new and innovative in-store digital experiences.
1. Amazon Go Grocery and Amazon Go walk out shopping
Amazon implemented the world’s most advanced shopping technology, so you don’t have to wait in long queues, and hence customers experience checkout-free shopping. Just Walk Out Technology self executes and recognizes when goods are picked from or put back to the racks and monitors them in a virtual trolley.
When a person does the shopping, he/she can exit the outlet. Later, Amazon Go will send them a sales slip and charges them on their Amazon account.
No long queues, no checkout.
2. Digital price tags by Kroger
The brand new technology used for store designing is to make grocery shopping effortless than ever before. Its installation has been on the shelves of the outlet.
It digitally showcases the pricing and nutritional information of the goods. Also, it displays the discount coupons and video advertisements for the products.
This technology interacts with the users highlighting the goods in their shopping checklist as they walk by the aisles of the shop. It helps them to rapidly select the goods from a whole lot of products available on the rack.
Additionally, it helps them to complete their shopping list via the smartphone. Kroger manages out of stock items and quickly updates the value of the good using the digital price tag display.
3. A humanoid robot used by Nestle
Nestle Japan used a humanoid robot to sell Nescafe devices, which enhanced brand engagement with the customers. In the giant market of Nestle, Nescafe uses humanoid robot ‘Pepper’ to sell Nescafe Dolce Gusto, and Nescafe Gold Blend Barista coffee machines in-home appliance outlets located in Japan.
Pepper was the first robot on the earth that was able to read and respond to human sentiments.
The robot uses the latest voice and emotion recognition technology, Pepper was able to read human facial expressions and absorb their tone of voice and responded accordingly. Pepper was able to explain Nescafé products and services and enhanced interactions with the users, which ultimately led to more revenues.
4. Alibaba’s offline retail outlet Hema
All over China, Alibaba is inflating its offline retail outlets, ‘Hema.’ More than 65 retail outlets were inaugurated in the past year, as a collaborative endeavor to amalgamate the online retail and offline retail. In these outlets, the customers scan the goods by using an application, get the relevant insights of the product, and pay for them.
Alibaba is also launching restaurants where they’ll be using robots to deliver the food, and the order will be done automatically through digital applications.
5. Autonomous shopping carts, by JD.com, 7Fresh
Alibaba's prominent rival, JD.com, has inaugurated high-tech supermarkets, which are very technologically advanced. 7Fresh used eCommerce digital retail technology and considered the retail food future of China.
The outlets are also using "big data analytics" to relate the products according to the customer's desire from a vast range of products. It also indulges technologies to deliver a super smooth shopping experience.
One of the store's bright features is its intelligent shopping carts, which follow the customers throughout the store (despite being dragged manually).
In this manner, the customers can focus more on their operations or looking after their kids while shopping. The other in-store technology is the 'magic mirrors' who identifies and displays the information, whenever a product is selected up.
Conclusion
In the current world of data and analytics, the retail industry experiences continuing to move into digital shopping. The customers these days are in favor of offline stores, which are high in technology.
It allows your customers to interact with you and capture their requirements.
The ML (machine learning), AI ( artificial intelligence), and smart automation, including R.P.A. (robotic process automation) methodologies and proficiencies, will enhance the usage of operational data and more efficient cloud platforms in the future.
Implementing digital retail technology in retail stores to bring a customized user experience is, however, complex. Still, the right amount of retailers is bridging the gap by building high tech retail stores.
Rapidops helps implement technologies into your business that will help you nurture your business. Our experts will guide you to make the planning and decision making throughout.
These advanced technologies, when implemented in retail stores, will enhance customer satisfaction and retention. It'll promote loyalty by improving the customers' in-store digital experience. So come, let’s build it together for you.
We would be happy to see you grow.
News From
Rapidops, Inc.Category: Software Developers Profile: Rapidops Inc. is a technology, transformation, and analytics company. We help clients design, engineer, and launch advanced digital products and platforms that enable them to thrive and achieve more for their customers. Since 2008, our team has delivered thousands of projects and hundreds of digital products that are touching millions of lives daily, solving tough problems, and changing the way people live, work, and engage. We are working with companies like Dassault Systemes, Harris Teeter, B ...
