The retail landscape is changing. Smart retailers are looking at retail trends from broad demographics to become a demographic of just one. Both stores and apps are trying to extend personalization at the individual level.
As Walmart and Amazon duke it out for the battle of the behemoths, a lot of technology companies are coming to retailers’ aid.
The following five hot retail trends using technologies all impossible a few years ago, were some of my biggest takeaways from the National Retail Federation's Shop.org convention in Los Angeles.
Choose just one to bring the future to your store today.
Glass Media – shoppable front windows. Imagine you have a store in a high foot traffic area. Busy shoppers are passing by when you’re open and closed. How do you get their business? Glass Media uses a proprietary display with their hardware to project your shoppable items onto your front window. No more posters and no turning it off and on; it’s all automatic and self-contained. Watch Daniel explain it to me at the Tech Lab.
Handy – one-click construction of furniture on your website. For many retailers, that last yard from a customer buying your item and them enjoying it involves some kind of installation. Handy connects retail businesses and shoppers with highly qualified professionals to make that process seamless. Watch Kristiana explain it to me.
Purple – free Wi-Fi with condition of collecting data. A lot of retailers offer free Wi-Fi. Some you have to click a disclaimer, some you have to checkin with Facebook. Purple’s disclaimer allows retailers to achieve a new level of valuable insights from people from people who connect to your Wi-Fi while in your store. Watch Bradley explain it to me.
Headliner Labs – chatbots for your website that answer FAQs of shoppers. Every store should have some version of an online store if for no other reason than allowing your customers to shop from you when they want, where they want and how they want. But offering such an online store raises questions. Enter Headliner Labs who can build a chatbot, that’s a computer program designed to simulate conversation with human users. Their system increases mobile sales by 45%. Watch Caroline explain it to me.
PriceWaiter - convert comparison shoppers before they leave your site. If you have products readily shoppable from online competitors, this may be for you. As soon as someone copies the item name, PriceWaiter can be set to interrupt them and allow that shopper to haggle within your predetermined price limits. Watch Dirk bring home the bacon - which was a great way to engage the casual passerby - who doesn’t want bacon? Watch here and learn more here.
Alright, here's a bonus...
Unata – local grocers voice-activated ordering. Sure Alexa is a big deal, but that only takes you to Amazon. What if a local grocer wanted to integrate with Alexa or Google Home as an option for their local customers? How would they do it? Enter Unata who integrates online and in-store so retailers can offer their customers a personalized and seamless experience. Find out more here.
And one thing about technology ... it isn’t always making things better.
Also presented at the conference, a new report from Namogoo found that 15-25% of all e-commerce customer sessions are exposed to unauthorized ads. Basically, ads are appearing on your retailer website aimed at stealing your shoppers’ clicks and revenue and delivering them to your competitors.
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In Sum
Technology is allowing many retailers to provide more convenience and services to their shoppers than ever before.
Use these customer-focused hot retail trends to increase your own conversion rate and KPIs.
By
Bob Phibbs
