Sweeping technological advances and evolving consumer trends are dominating the retail landscape and forcing companies to adapt. Digital natives are driving change and retailers need to move quickly if they are going to survive the retail shift. Stores that don’t offer shoppers the experience they want are going to see their business decline, and when you factor in competition from online giants like Amazon.com, there’s little time to lose.
If you haven’t started leveraging consumer trends to drive sales, it’s not too late. Here are four trends that you should be incorporating into your business plan:
1. Mobile Use.
Encouraging mobile devices in-store can lead to successful omnichannel operations that provide personalized customer service, which builds loyalty and revenue. A Nielsen Company report revealed that people spend more than 10 hours a day staring at their screens, including tablets, smartphones, video games, TVs, etc. Clearly people are comfortable in this medium, so work with them. Optimize your store’s website so it’s easily viewed on a smartphone or tablet, allowing people to browse easily anytime, anywhere. Toys R Us, Home Depot and Best Buy encourage smartphone use in-store by inviting shoppers to see maps of the store and scan QR codes to run price comparisons, read product reviews, and check item availability.
2. Virtual Reality.
Virtual reality elements combine what people love about online shopping with an in-store experience. Retailers can use VR technology to provide a higher level of customer service and a more customized consumer profile for online shopping. At apparel and department stores, virtual dressing rooms could help remove some of the anxiety people feel when trying on clothing. Some upscale retailers are piloting a touchscreen mirror that works with a scanner, so people can track what they are trying on and browse other colors, sizes, styles and reviews — without ever leaving the fitting room.
3. Social Video.
Social videos — digital content designed to be uploaded to social media — are a wildly popular consumer trend. These aren’t standard advertisements — they are short movies, Superbowl-length commercials, or live streams that subtly showcase products and services. Research shows that a social video will reach 54 percent of people in the U.S. in just one month, and it’s easy to see how that’s possible. Facebook and Snapchat have blown past eight million video views a day, while YouTube has more than one billion viewers. A recent survey completed by the Web Marketing Video Council found that 61 percent of businesses are uploading video, so if your business isn’t leveraging digital content, you’re already behind the curve.
4. IoT.
The Internet of Things (IoT), a network of connected devices that communicate with each other, can help identify a problem before it even starts, so shoppers have a frustration-free experience in-store. Some IoT retail applications already in use are RFID tracking tags, customer traffic counting technology, digital signage and customers’ mobile devices. Tracking customers’ movements in the store helps optimize floor layouts and identifies if a person needs assistance, while RFID tracking can pinpoint issues in supply chain management.
Consumer trends are reshaping the retail landscape quickly. People expect the same customized experience both in-store and online, so leverage mobile technology to give them what they want. Communicate with your customers in the way they are most comfortable — social videos can rack up millions of views, so take advantage of the exposure to draw people in. Incorporating popular consumer trends will help ensure your business is well-positioned to ride out the retail shift successfully.
