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The consumer and retail industry is undergoing an exciting revolution powered by rapid digitization, further empowering the consumers. With the augment of digital technologies consumers are becoming more connected, tech-savvy, less loyal, channel-agnostic, demanding, and expecting personalized services as a given. The industry has also undergone a evolution of sorts reshaped by several factors – including the rise of e-commerce, omnichannel, changing customer behavior, hyper-personalization, and growing supply chain complexity, all of which have been heightened by the pandemic.
With so much change taking place in and around the industry it becomes inevitable for business leaders to understand how emerging technologies can fuel the engine for future growth and competitiveness. Retailers need to satisfy consumer needs and anticipate and shape their expectations to emerge as winners. The future retailer needs to embrace technology to develop innovative solutions extending consumer relationships beyond the shopping experience. According to a Boston Consulting Group survey, 110% of shoppers believe personalization influenced their shopping experience encouraging them to buy more while 25% of retailers stated they experienced an increase in revenue due to their personalized offerings.
This blog captures the technology trends that will shape the future of the Consumer & Retail Industry is a primer for retailers to craft their future strategies.
Thanks to its functionalities, IoT is regarded as one of the primary pillars of retail transformation. IoT with its machine learning algorithms evaluates real-time consumer behavior, enhances supply chain management, predicts equipment maintenance, automates inventory management, and delivers significant personalized insights. According to a report, IoT in retail will be worth USD 35.5 billion by 2025. Amazon, one of the biggest retailers, has implemented an IoT system in their physical stores, resulting in a seamless checkout procedure for both employees and customers.
Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality shopping experiences are gradually becoming the norm now. It bridges the gap between e-commerce platforms and brick-and-mortar stores. Retailers with digital store technology allow buyers to try on things virtually and assess their suitability, allowing them to make decisions. It also dramatically reduces the number of returned orders and allows retailers to organize the products and buyers to obtain a visual view of items stacked on shelves. Stores like Sephora, Target, and Ikea have already implemented it giving consumers an immersive reality experience. Ikea Studio using AR/VR technology, displays rooms, measurements, windows, doorways, and furniture on your devices, allowing you to imagine interior design like never before.
Digital transformation has increased speed, efficiency, and accuracy across all branches of the retail industry. With its predictive analytics and superior data analysis platforms, it is helping organizations in making data-driven decisions. None of these insights would be possible without Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning. AI/ML in retail has provided firms with advanced data analytics, resulting in increased operational efficiency and profitability. It helps organizations with customer segmentation, consumer behavior analysis, demand sensing, inventory optimization, risk management, real-time personalization, and more. According to Fortune, artificial intelligence in the consumer and retail industry is projected to grow to USD 51.94 billion by 2029, exhibiting a CAGR of 5.2%. Sephora, a multinational retail organization, launched Color IQ which scans a customer’s complexion and recommends customized foundation and concealer shades, while Lip IQ does the same to help select the perfect shade of lipstick.
From logistics and supply chains to store operations, inventory merchandising, sales, marketing, and customer-facing experiences, AI-enabled robots are driving innovation. The worldwide robotics market is expected to reach USD 87 billion by 2025, according to Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Organizations are deploying radio frequency identification robots to scan inventories for entire stores, as they can do so with much less time and fewer errors. Robots are also coming to the forefront and engaging with customers by assisting them in navigating merchandise, and if the customer has queries, the robot effortlessly diverts it to a human agent, who interacts via video conferencing trying to resolve issues in real-time.
Metaverse is the continuum of rapidly emerging technologies from the cloud and artificial intelligence to blockchain, digital twins to AR/VR, and beyond. It is a $1 trillion revenue opportunity for businesses, as per Forbes. Metaverse in the retail industry provides an immersive reality experience for both consumers and organizations. Retail stores can offer customers better engagement and a 3D visual experience through the metaverse, where they can try out various products from the comfort of their homes. Customers can shop with their digital avatars providing brands with deep real-time insights about customer behavior while brands provide customers engaging immersive shopping experiences. Nike, a well-known brand, has built a micro-metaverse space Nikeland, that allows users to try virtual products while playing games.
Way forward
The consumer and retail industry is buzzing with new technologies. The perpetual innovations and implementation of cutting-edge technologies like AI/ML, AR/VR, IoT, Robotics, and Metaverse can help accelerate your organization’s transformation and propel you to be more innovative and agile. Innover’s Consumer and Retail solutions, help organizations to leverage the best of both physical and online shopping experiences and uncover new opportunities across sales, distribution, merchandising, and more, empowering you and your business to encapsulate an evolving future.
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