Stores get pumped with Smart Retail

The technology of smart retail is very dynamic. And why not, when you are here to cater willy and smart consumer, you have to outpace them by being way ahead. The HD LED screens and AR kiosks have becomes technologies that drive it way through new potent marketing. Frankly, it is just the tip of the iceberg. The whole retail sector has evolved much ahead of it.

Smart Retail

All of the big conferences or expositions are the perfect ways to know how best technologies and creative ideas together take forward the smart retails. The internet retail format is a disruptive innovation which has created consumers who are educated, socially engaged, and demanding. The industry is coming to recognize that the experience they offer, whether in stores or online, must be centered on this new consumer reality. Inevitably, everything upstream will change.

Current Scenario

Today, retailers are under immense pressure. Apart from selling quality goods and service at most competitive rates and in most efficient manner, retention of customer has been the biggest challenge for the retailers. Irony is that, one has to survive against all odds.

The struggle between offline and online retailers to gain more space in the market has led to very competitive scenario. There have not been much but still some good technological advancements in retails.

iBeacon has been able to pull a lot of customers towards the stores. Once the customer having beacon app enabled on smartphone passes within the perimeter of the beacons, he receives push notifications on his smartphone regarding the current offers and discounts being available at the store. Other prominent technologies adapted are Cloud computing and ERP softwares which have helped retails in keeping track of accounts and inventories, especially when you have multiple stores.  

Looking at the market environment, retailers have to be very dynamic in terms of product display, store operations, customer engagement and in-store customer experience. Smart retail looks very promising in providing solution to all these problems.

Components of Smart Retails

• Customer App: It is the most unique way to connect with your customers. These mobile apps give the users a customised experience with on-demand services and prompts to sell the stuff with a level of simplicity. They send your offers and discounts on products or services that matches your taste based on your search history or previous bought items.

• Retail Analytics: It allows the retailers to analyse the customer movements in and around the store via specialized sensors that not only scans the motion but also detects the behaviour of buying. This is most effective in understanding the impact of advertising campaigns including in-store and outdoor displays.

• Digital Advertisements: Until now were banners, billboards and signages were uni-way communication medium. But lately with smart signages and boards, it has become bi-way communicative and ensuring that retailers keep a tab on how much effective a particular signage has been.

• Smart Carts: This is one of the most time saving and cost effective technology for the brick and mortar stores. The store baskets or carts will be connected with the customer’s account and billing software enabling sensors in the cart to add the product into the bill as soon as product is placed in the cart. This will not only reduce the long queues at billing counter but also help store managers to engage billing person to be engaged in some other productive work.

• Home replenishment: It is believed to have biggest potential in the range of IoT technology. It is really superlative, just think pressing a button on the wall near your washing machine if you need a new pack of detergent, this automatically add you favourite product to your shopping cart connected with a e-retailer and is delivered to you with your complete order checkout. These simple and effective tools are not just helpful for buyers but also gives great detailing to retailers about their customer’s choices. Such buttons can be implemented in many different places and be configured as per the need and usage. It is just a part of smart home.

Smart Retail is ensuring improved, faster, and more cost-effective business operations for many retailers. It is supporting to simplify and stabilise their business operations and standardize their business processes across their own and their partners’ value chains.

LetsNurture has been focusing its vigour towards enhancement of technology experience in IoT. Feel free to reach out our sales team and it would be great to engage with you on realising the strength of IoT for Smart Retail.