In-Store Technology

The world has started to recuperate from the pandemic and consumers are back to in-store shopping; retailers are keen to make the most of the footfall by providing exceptional in-store experiences. However, one barrier that the retail sector is still trying to overcome is the labor shortage hangover caused by COVID-19. While retailers struggle to…

The internet provides retailers endless amounts of precise, real-time information and insights into the shopper’s journey. What are they searching for? What are they clicking on? At what point do they fall out of the sales pipeline? In a brick-and-mortar store, however, shopping data is mostly limited to the day’s receipts. Where online stores use…

For many retailers, the customer experience is about much more than customer satisfaction scores. More than anything, today’s customers want a personalized, quick and easy shopping experience, a frictionless experience. These expectations are heavily shaped by online retail experiences, challenging brick-and-mortar retailers to transform their physical stores into engaging, personalized experience centers powered by real-time intelligence. Whereas e-commerce sites…

Frontline employees are vital to a retailer's operation. The quality of a customer's experience is directly related to the level of employee engagement.  When customers need assistance, they expect fast, reliable service and they shouldn't have to look all over the store for help. Unfortunately, customers are often left with no other option than to…

For years e-commerce sites enjoyed an “unfair advantage” over their brick-and-mortar competition. The combination of click tracking, behavioral analytics, and customer journey planning provided a wealth of data that was simply unavailable in a physical retail environment. Loyalty programs, where customers scanned a plastic card at checkout, provided stores with shopper purchasing habits, but only…

The pandemic kickstarted an omnichannel shopping trend, with 60 percent to 70 percent of consumers researching and purchasing both in-store and online. At the same time, customer experience remained king. As consumers become increasingly demanding and accustomed to the ease and convenience of shopping online, physical retail stores are having to step up their game.…

Brick-and-mortar retail is in a technology boom. While innovations like self-checkout, mobile apps, and digital kiosks were already popping up in stores, the pandemic only accelerated the adoption of new technologies to connect with customers and keep them safe. Despite focusing on face-to-face interactions and physical products, brick-and-mortar retail’s past is filled with technological innovation…

Although it may feel like the past two years have radically changed retail, many consumer expectations are still the same, just fast-tracked. To meet these expectations, physical stores need to get creative with crafting unique experiences, including using pop-up shops, providing exclusive products and experiences, and managing their supply chain and inventory effectively and sustainably.…

Brick-and-mortar stores are on a tear. While e-commerce is leveling off at about 21 percent of core retail sales, retailers opened more than 4,200 new stores in the first five months of this year, Cushman & Wakefield reports. At this point, “2022 is on track to be the first year of net-positive store openings since…

The last three years have brought an explosion of new technology into retail spaces. Electronic shelf labels, virtual mirrors, and self-checkout are just a few ways brick-and-mortar stores are digitizing the retail experience. Retailers are confident delivering a highly personalized, zero-friction experience in a physical setting can improve the shopping experience and help them reclaim…