The physical store as a retail occasion remains, at least pre-metaverse adoption, experientially distinct from the transactional nature of e-commerce. In order to meet a consumer base spending more of their time, and more of their dollars, online, retailers are leveraging an increasingly potent suite of in-store technology paired with next-generation operational enhancements to drive loyalty while capturing spend, and remind shoppers of the magic of the in-store occasion. By taking strategic cues and best practices from digital to optimize the omnichannel brick-and-mortar experience, including focusing on convenience, personalization, and the in-store occasion’s unique potential to inform and educate, retailers are able to meet and even exceed the expectations of their shoppers, while at the same time drive customer acquisition and growth.
An innovative array of omnichannel tools and solutions are helping retailers reinvent the in-store shopping experience. By integrating next-generation technologies like smart displays, augmented reality activations, and more, retailers can provide consumers with greater access to information as well as better understand the way their shoppers are interacting with products and displays. Operational enhancements like mobile dashboards, streamlined order picking, and intelligent inventory management systems allow for greater frontline staff agility and flexibility, while providing retailers with strategies to remove friction from the shopping experience and maximize customer satisfaction.
In a new report report ‘Technology Innovations Fueling Intelligent Store Operations’, the PSFK iQ research team explores the tools, technologies, and solutions brands and retailers are launching in order to integrate omnichannel convenience and drive sales across brick-and-mortar locations. Learn about the pre-, during, and post-purchase solutions being deployed to provide an innovative and optimized experience across the entire shopping journey. Through five featured trends and highlighted marketplace examples, this report will help your organization develop a retailing approach that utilizes technology, computer vision, and automation in order to provide maximum personalization and convenience.
Trends Driving Innovation In Store Operations
To optimize the physical shopping experience, retailers and property owners are translating the curation and personalization typical of online marketplaces to IRL locations, tailoring product selections and experiences to specific customer needs based on their digital profiles as well as ground level data. By providing consumers with a curated and responsive environment based on their interests, and tenants with traffic-driving strategies, these intelligent shopping centers are then leveraging these collected insights, informed by both digital and physical data points, to inform product selection, interactive displays, in-store tech integration, contactless checkout strategies and more.
To provide both consumers and their own teams and partners with greater inventory visibility, retailers are partnering with cloud platforms or even developing in-house solutions to gain a better understanding of consumer product needs from a local to mass scale through smart inventory tracking and product data collection. Across physical stores and online marketplaces, there is a growing expectation for retailers to provide a real-time view of inventory, not only to verify an item is in stock but to also provide its closest physical location in proximity to a shopper. At the same time, retailers are looking to ensure each store and channel is carrying an optimized selection of product based on factors such as consumer demand and geographic or demographic preferences.
In response to today’s mass adoption of both eCommerce and BOPIS channels, today’s retail employees are taking on new responsibilities when it comes to fulfillment, both within warehouses and the physical store. To better support their associates, retailers are investing in new tools and features to streamline the process of locating, selecting and ultimately fulfilling orders. From AR enabled, hands-free wearables to introducing features for customers to proactively select backup options, retailers are taking steps to improve not only their employees’ experiences but their consumers’ as well.
Best-In-Class Examples
VANS USES PLANOGRAM PLATFORM TO INCREASE FLOORSET EFFICIENCY
By deploying the retail merchandising software, shoe and apparel company Vans was able to realize huge frontline efficiencies across its visual merchandising routines and floorset guidelines.
UNDER ARMOUR EXPANDS RFID CAPABILITIES FOR GREATER INVENTORY VISIBILITY
Using Nedap ID Cloud, the performance athletic brand aims to unlock a powerful omni-channel strategy by creating a seamless, connected shopping experience for its consumers.
AMAZON’S FIRST PHYSICAL CLOTHING STORE PROVIDES GLIMPSE INTO NEXT-GEN RETAIL
Confirming a rumor from last year, e-commerce and technology giant Amazon is opening its first-ever physical clothing store.
For more: read PSFK’s report ‘Technology Innovations Fueling Intelligent Store Operations’
