The coronavirus has brought forward two significant trends in retail. One is to have a more integrated approach to omnichannel retail, and the other is to re-invigorate brick-and-mortar stores. The dramatic changes in how people have shopped over the past 18 months mean that neither trend will end any time soon. Consumers have become familiar with…
Samuel Mueller
Paper or plastic? Not too long ago, that was the only checkout question that consumers had to deal with. My, how times have changed. These days, whenever customers head to a checkout counter, they’re likely to deal with a barrage of questions, such as: Did you find everything? Do you have a loyalty card? What’s…
We’re at the point where the majority of consumers have a smartphone with them at all times, meaning they also carry a camera wherever they go. Whenever something noteworthy happens in the world, there's almost always a picture or video available immediately. And with each year that passes, camera technology continues to improve while the…
Not that long ago, retailers knew their customers. Shoppers would stay loyal to their favorite stores and be rewarded with highly personalized customer service. Employees knew everything about customer purchasing habits and personal needs. This one-on-one relationship lasted for years — or even decades. Although it existed until fairly recently, that type of personal retail…
As ownership of smartphones and tablets continues to increase across the globe, more and more consumers are turning online to satisfy their shopping needs. With this transition, retailers are seeing a decrease in sales-per-square-foot of retail shopping space. Unfortunately for brick-and-mortar retailers, this trend shows no sign of stopping anytime soon.
Barcode scanning isn't a new retail concept. Traditional, expensive handheld barcode scanners have been used in warehouses to manage inventory, and bulky cash registers with related hardware and basic software have for years been scanning barcodes for purchases. However, smartphones and tablets have opened up a whole new world for retailers when it comes to barcode scanning.
