The Retailer Summer 2018_FA_20.07

Advanced in-store technology vital to retail success

James Pepper Technical Services Director Vista Retail Support

“There is now a depth of expectation among consumers that stores are connected with their online counterparts, that products are available when they want them at a place and time that is convenient for them.”

THE MESSAGE FROM CUSTOMERS IS LOUD AND CLEAR – STORES NEED MORE TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE THE RETAIL EXPERIENCE

covering purchase, payment, loyalty, service-functions and order-tracking and if implemented correctly, will certainly boost revenues. Shoppers are learning to love AI applications In a store, AI voice-activation offers major advantages. Staff can, for example, save customers time and trouble by immediately obtaining accurate information about products and services via a headset. Consumers can also help themselves through a dedicated kiosk built on AI’s ability to understand customer requests. In the Vista research, six out of ten consumers were keen to use these devices for discovering products available from the retailer of which they were not previously aware. AI-based virtual assistants and applications also alleviate the irritation of queuing to pay. Consumers can use these applications on their smartphones and complete transactions quickly from anywhere in the store. The future of payments is a huge topic but we can say with confidence that AI-powered payment solutions will be very attractive to younger consumers who do not share their parents’ stoicism about queuing. AR and VR will enhance the retail experience The picture of increasing enthusiasm for in-store tech among consumers is similar to VR and AR. VR headsets, which create an immediate but entirely artificial 3D environment, are increasingly part of the infrastructure of the gaming industry. Yet for the moment, VR in retail tends to be restricted to providing spectacular promotional experiences, such as test- driving a car in dramatic landscapes. AR, on the other hand, which combines reality with the artificial images generated by the software, or voice recommendations for purchases based on the user’s digital profile and social footprint, has more direct impact on helping shoppers make the right purchase. An augmented reality (AR) app downloaded to a smartphone shows all the possibilities of a major purchase to a consumer. Shoppers can check how a new sofa would look in their own living room or see how they would look in a new suit as the technology superimposes images with great precision, enabling customers to move quickly between different styles, sizes or colour tones. Their preferences and choices can be retained to save time and increase customer-recognition and personalisation, whether the consumer is shopping online or in the store. When retailers employ these AR applications, the majority of customers react very positively. In Vista research, three-quarters of the shoppers who had used AR in a store could see its value

and said they felt encouraged to use the technology again. And expectations are growing. More than half of those who had yet to use the technology were enthusiastic about it and thought retailers should expand on its use. Retailers need to be bold to survive The danger for the UK high street is that retailers will be too slow in implementing the new technologies about which consumers are so positive. Shoppers familiar with Siri and Amazon Alexa know that technology makes shopping so much easier, eradicating irritations and anticipating demand. Investing in these technologies is costly and has hidden pitfalls. Each of these technologies will need careful assessment to ensure that it will ultimately achieve a return on investment, however retailers need to act fast to ensure that they retain existing customers and attract the next generation of shopper. Retailers need to be as excited about AI, VR and AR as their customers, consumers are ready for new customer experiences powered by these technologies.

Despite the rapid expansion of online retail, physical stores have a significant part to play in the customer journey. Research conducted by Vista found that 81 per cent of UK consumers see the physical store as vital to the shopping experience and 70 per cent said they enjoy the full experience of going into stores at their leisure to browse, find out what is new and buy what they like. This may not continue unless retailers address the need for the evolution of in-store technology, as this is essential to success of bricks-and-mortar retailing. There is now a depth of expectation among consumers that stores are connected with their online counterparts, that products are available when they want them at a place and time that is convenient for them. Retailers are also embracing technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), computer learning, automation, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to help achieve seamless customer engagement and increased sales. This array of technologies will enhance and inform customer experiences when they enter a store. While 70 per cent of shoppers surveyed said they were familiar with AI applications, almost the same (66 per cent) said they have yet to encounter the technology in a store. Whilst technology such as AI is often invisible to consumers and store colleagues, this could be where UK retail is missing out. All the evidence is that such technologies boost sales. This growing consumer awareness of the technological possibilities is pushing change on retailers whether they like it or not. Vista’s research found that more than two-thirds of consumers believe that retailers should make these technologies a priority. Voice commerce in retail is set to grow. It is already increasing consumer spending, not just at home, but as shoppers are on the move, using smartphones or in-built connectivity in cars. In the UK, 37 per cent of smartphone owners use voice-led technology of some kind every month, with nearly one-in-five buying a product through voice without looking online first. As its use expands, it will rapidly become an interactive channel

JAMES PEPPER // 0845 070 2055 // info@vistasupport.com // vistasupport.com

48 | SUMMER 2018 |

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