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While AR is the driving technology behind visual search, voice search comprises 20 percent of Google searches, and to make voice searchable, retailers must implement schema on their site, and for image search, Pinterest Lens is on the lead
Fremont, CA: With many transformations in the retail sector, retailers who embrace new technology, explores, understand and leverage consumer behavior and experiment new concepts will take the upper hand in having a growing and thriving business.
Here are seven trends propelling the retail industry forward:
Continued Physical Shifts In-Store
There will be a lot of well-known stores closing down as brands will need to be innovative to stay relevant in the retail space. There will be a rise in pop up stores as both established physical retailers as well as online retailers experiment in this area and leverage the scarcity principle to drive purchases. Lord and Taylor closed its large store in NYC in 2019, and under new ownership, the department store is opening a small format pop up store. Also, Glossier partnered with Nordstrom to open store-within-a-store mini boutiques.
Fast Delivery
In a recent study by Forbes, 88 percent of consumers revealed their willingness to pay more for the same day or faster delivery options. Retailers who do not have the logistic infrastructure will need to partner up with delivery experts to satisfy consumers' demands. Large apparel retailer, Old Navy, partnered with Postmates to offer same-day delivery.
Need for Data Scientists
Retailers who do not possess the right analytics will find difficulty in analyzing the massive amount of data being generated from IoT devices, social media, customer transactions, web browsing, and store visits. Data scientists in retail are vital to drive revenue, reduce cost, and satisfying customers. With their help, there will be an improvement in product development, locally managed inventory levels, and optimized customer experience seamlessly across channels.
Enhance Customer Experience through Alternate Realities
Offline experience benefits from technologies like facial recognition and augmented reality, while online experience continues to improve through virtual reality. Through AR, customers can try on outfits or makeup or even see how furniture will look in a room, saving a lot of time and money.
The use of these technologies not only increases sales but also alleviates returns, which is a difficult challenge for retailers when it comes to online customers. By introducing try-before-you-buy virtual experiences, customers will feel more confident buying a dress, for instance, instead of ordering three sizes of the same outfit to find the perfect fit.
Combining Online and Offline Stores
Costumers buying products online and then purchase in-store allow retailers to upsell and cross-sell additional items or services. While other customers shop in-store and purchase online.
Retailers will utilize rich customer data for their store personnel to capitalize on shoppers entering their stores by using facial recognition to identify customers who come to the store and reference customer purchase histories and deploying recommendation engines. Through this, in-store personnel can offer a more tailored and meaningful experience to the customers.
Localization and Personalization
Adidas develops, produces, and offers sale on running shoes specific to local terrain and weather. On the other hand, Levi's introduced the creation of custom embroidery of customer's own unique look right in their store.
Such local and personalized development and stocking of products appeal most to a local market, providing an advantage to retailers and knowing the local audience, and providing one-of-a-kind products turns retail to a more personalized space.
Rise of Social Shopping
Twenty-eight percent of internet users search for products in social media, according to GlobalWebIndex, and Instagram is advancing in this field with Shoppable links and posts and IGTV. It is also experimenting with a native payment system. Pinterest Shop, a new dashboard curated by Pinterest that showcases the profiles and products of small businesses, features 17 U.S. small businesses offering products from jewelry to apparel. Walmart recruited influencers of TikTok, a video-sharing social networking app, to post videos of them dancing and showing off their significant savings and encouraging others to take up the challenge under the tag #SavingsShuffle. Twenty-six videos under the tag gained up to 450 million views in late September 2019. Thus, retailers experimenting with and embracing social media have high chances of finding success.
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