Nur Asri is an associate at Larisa Ortiz Associates.
As we continue to move forward in this digital age, consumers
are expecting simpler and seamless processes at home, at work, and at the
retail store. As a result, retailers are making significant investments in
technology in- stores to meet these consumer demands for a connected and
convenient shopping experience. Here are some ways that retailers and brands are
using technology to enhance consumer experience but also personalize marketing,
improve logistics and customer service in brick-and-mortar stores.
1. Data Integration: Understanding consumer preferences, personalized
marketing
Connecting data from smart appliances, mobile phones and
other portable devices to digital systems helps businesses understand how
customers actually use products and services, and which ones are preferred. To
take advantage of this data and metrics, retailers can begin using devices to
facilitate a more seamless retail experience in the store, and at home, to
integrate products and services.
Retailers can use “customer
genomes” to create highly personalized offers, promotions and experiences.
Source: Let's Talk Payments.Com |
Macy’s and Apple are using in-store beacons to provide
personalized offers directly to customers via mobile devices. House of Fraser, another department
store in the UK, inserted beacons into mannequins for a proximity marketing
campaign. When shoppers download an app and browse in- store, they receive
information about the clothes on display. In other bigger retail stores, in-store shopper tracking systems have been installed to pinpoint a customer’s location.
Retailers can then send targeted messages to customers (via smartphones) about
nearby items.
Hugo Boss Heat Sensor in Regent Street store. Source: Bloomberg |
In London UK, Hugo Boss uses heat sensors to track customer traffic
in its clothing stores, which helps store managers organize priority
merchandise in high-traffic areas.
Monsoon
Accessorize uses multichannel data sources from in-store and online
customers to deliver unique personalized offers via emailed receipts. Similarly,
UK department store John
Lewis is partnering with an omnichannel personalization company to
customize product recommendations for each individual shopper.
Walmart
Media Exchange is using data collected from store sales, social-media
platforms and third parties to supplement data from its Savings Catcher loyalty
program. From the data, Walmart plans to create customer segments, and
eventually individual customer profiles, to make better offers, as well as to
improve targeted marketing.
2. Building brand/ product awareness: Educating consumers on what’s
available on offer, sharing products through social media
Photo: Fashion Network.Com |
Sephora has
installed display screens showing latest trends, make-up tutorials,
and new Made in Sephora exclusive offerings updated by theme each month.
The screen greets customers as they enter the store, much like a mall directory
screen. In addition, Sephora also has Beauty Boards. These are physical social
media platforms to like a look, tag products used and share with the Sephora
beauty community. Finally, Sephora’s snapchat geofilters feature highlighted
products in-store and are designed to engage everyone within a mile of a store.
3. Product Testing: Allowing consumers to test products digitally or via
augmented reality
Again, at Sephora, the Beauty Hub is a virtual look book which
provides a catalog of beauty inspiration while the Virtual Artist service enables customers to test looks on an iPad or
connected mirror. Developed with Pantone, the Color Profile application
helps choose the right foundation shade with almost scientific precision. Recommendations
are then made from all the complexion products available at in-store.
Marie
Claire’s pop-up store in NYC SoHo, called “The Next Big Thing Concept Shop”
has dressing rooms with interactive
mirrors from Oak Labs that recommend accessories for outfits being worn.
Similarly, Clarins beauty stores now feature Sensor Mirror Pro virtual skincare mirrors developed by MemoMi to
educate consumers about their skin types so they are able to select the most
suitable skincare products.
Photo: Connected-store.Com |
Finally,
fashion retailer Uniqlo has also piloted a “Magic Mirror” technology from
Sharp that allows customers to virtually change the colors of clothing they’re trying
on while standing in front of the mirror.
Photo: Ikea |
Even when consumers aren’t
physically in stores, they are now able to test products thanks to advanced
technology. Ikea will soon enable shoppers to virtually
test drive merchandise before making a purchase via an augmented reality
app called Ikea Place. The app will allow customers to virtually place any Ikea
furniture in any space and share the images with friends. The app will
automatically scale furniture with 98% accuracy. This enables customers to
experience how light and shadows will render on furniture within the space, and
is intended to make buying decisions easier and inspire customers ahead of
purchasing products. Other furniture retailers such as Wayfair and Ashley
Furniture are similarly preparing to launch such initiatives with their
products and brand.
Ashley Furniture will take technology a step further
and feature in-store virtual reality tech bars that will combine a guided
iPad-based space configuration experience with VR headset visualization,
allowing shoppers to design and visualize their own homes.
4. Payment Processing: Easy and seamless payment methods
With a smartphone in every pocket
and imaging technologies now available for scanning products, faster alternative checkout
methods will continue to grow across the retail industry, predicts Tony Rodriguez, CTO of digital
identification solutions provider Digimarc.
Self-service checkouts have gotten more sophisticated in grocery
stores and moved into other retail sub-segments, such as home improvement,
fashion and electronics stores. Tesco, a grocery store in the UK for example,
is testing a high-speed checkout solution that automatically scans products
placed on conveyor belts. The system can process up to three customers at a
time.
Apple Pay at Whole Foods. Photo: Eric Risberg |
Integrated mobile apps
and “contactless” mobile payments now also enable visitors to make seamless
cashless transactions, supported by MasterCard and Apple Pay, from anywhere
within the store, including via fitting room mirrors. The Sephora store at
Newbury Street, Boston, for example, has no cash registers because staff
associates can process payments
digitally, on their phones from anywhere on the floor of the store.
Since Apple’s launch of its Apple Pay solution, retailers
including Staples and Whole Foods have announced plans to accept Apple Pay at
their retail locations, adding to an impressive list of other major brands such
as Bank of America, Disney and McDonald’s.
5. Customer service: Efficient appointment bookings, improve staff
efficiency, deliveries
Many stores now enable customers to use an integrated mobile app to book
one-on-one appointments with fashion stylists, and sign up for a variety of
in-store events and activities. Neiman Marcus, for example, has already piloted
this at their pop-up store in SoHo.
To free up store employees’ time, Lowe’s has also begun
rolling out customer-helping robots into the aisles of 11 stores in the San
Francisco Bay Area. Lowe’s Innovation Labs unit worked with Silicon Valley
start-up Fellow Robots on the LoweBot. The robots allow store associates to
devote their attention to customers that need more thoughtful advice and
personalized service. Likewise, Safeway grocery store helps customers locate
stock and obtain product information through its Just for U service app. The
app also goes a step further by helping shoppers create and sort their shopping
list by store aisles.
Wearables, or ‘smart glasses and other connected devices intended
to be worn on the body’, are another productivity booster. Tesco distribution
center workers wear armbands that track the goods they are gathering. The band
also assigns tasks to the wearer, forecasts task completion time, and
quantifies precise movements among the facility’s shelving and loading bays.
The advancement of
such technology amongst retailers will serve to deliver a seamless shopping
experience for customers. However, even with all of these gadgets, customers still
walk into brick-and-mortar stores to get the personable experience of getting
expert advice from a staff person who’s tried and tested products for
themselves. From 2015
report on Navigating the New Digital Divide, Deloitte noted that “one in
three customers still prefer to consult store associates for assistance when
selecting and validating products.” Retailers must therefore adapt and learn to
balance both the human experience and technological convenience in stores to
attract consumers in the digital age.
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