After the drastic wave of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the retail stores have worked harder on their operational efficiency and tried bringing some remarkable changes. From cashless payments to the robotic shopping experience, there are many transformations enriching the retail shopping exposure for all of us.
If we talk according to the facts and figures, the global retail sales market was somewhere around 23.6 trillion U.S. dollars by the end of 2018. Now, the experts are making strong predictions about the global retail sales to touch 26.7 trillion U.S. dollars by the end of 2022. Now, this must be enough to expose the leading retail industry approach all over the world.
What has changed in the retail industry?
In recent years, omnichannel originated as the holy grail for retailers. Stats reveal that retail brands who offer their services at multiple channels have retailed up to 80% of customers; on the other hand, retailers who did not practice it could not retain 33% so far. Such stats reveal the potential of online retail shopping or infusing technology into this business stream.
Here’s how technology has transformed the world of the retail industry drastically.
- The new concept of social retail stores – Before July 2020, it was difficult for people to think of anything like social retail stores. It is a luxury social media and retail concept ensuring an interactive experience for all. Here, the users roaming inside the store can interact with the store manager or authority via an app. This happened in Burberry’s store in Shenzhen, China, where people experienced a gamifying shopping experience for the first time.
- Price tags have gone electronic – The concept of displaying a product’s price electronically has become the new age solution to changing or putting multiple price tags on a product packaging. This all has become possible with smart electronic shelf labels, which update the product price automatically if its market value or retail store price changes. It has reduced the hassle of retail store managers to get the tags changed or update pricing details for customers. Moreover, it has encouraged ventures like Ses-imagotag.com to come up with improved solutions for the retail and other business industries to enhance the customer experience in all manners possible.
- Facial recognition – Every retail store wishes to retain as many customers as possible. That’s why several stores are using the facial recognition approach to identify loyal customers at the point of sale effectively. However, it comes under a luxurious retail store feature, yet many stores are adopting it to ensure better customer experience and safety.
- Robotic assistance – Imagine a robot picking your desirable items for you and following you throughout the store. It sounds like great fun and a unique helping hand, right? Well, that’s what has turned into an unbelievable reality for all of us. There are sci-fi robots who interact with the customers and help them in all manners to improve their shopping experience at retail stores.
The final line
Technology has turned out to be the heart of the retail industry, especially for the forthcoming years. As technology is pushing the boundaries of whatever is possible, the expectations of the current-age shoppers are rising consistently. With this, it has become essential for people to adopt the new changes and welcome a better retail future.
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