2 technological advances that can boost the holiday shopping experience
After a long day of searching for holiday gifts for friends and family, you’re ready for a refreshment—maybe a snack or coffee. However, the queue for the coffee shop extends beyond the entrance. Ugh—do you endure it or concede and return home instead?
Queues of great length are never enjoyable, particularly during the holidays when you’re exhausting yourself. Deloitte indicates that this year, the preference for in-store purchases will revert to 2019 levels, implying that shoppers should anticipate strong crowds.
Consequently, it is unsurprising that the duration of waiting in line at retail outlets has risen by 30% since 2022. A recent Waitwhile survey indicates that Americans alone spend about 37 billion hours annually queuing.
Frictionless: A superior shopping method Retailers can contribute to minimizing wait times by eliminating superfluous steps and touch points. The aim is to render trade virtually without friction.
Technology can provide assistance. Automated checkout and inventory management solutions, driven by cameras, computer vision, and artificial intelligence, offer a more intuitive experience in traditional retail environments like convenience stores, coffee shops, airports, and train stations, as well as venues such as stadiums, theaters, and racetracks.
This is the way it functions. Customers walk into the shop and log in with either a credit card or a branded loyalty application. A turnstile or gate allows them to enter the shopping area. Cameras collaborate with a computer vision system and machine learning to monitor shopper movements and interactions with particular retail items, all without relying on facial recognition. When customers have completed their shopping, they can just leave the store. A digital receipt will then be created and sent to them.
This straightforwardness, which is sensitive to time, can at times prove to be crucial. With the opening of Amerant Bank Arena for the 2023 All-Star Weekend, fans could take advantage of the venue’s new automated checkouts powered by Verizon 5G to purchase snacks and drinks quickly and easily, allowing them to return to their seats without concern about missing any on-ice action.
This technology not only cuts down the time customers spend on transactions, but its embedded analytics allow retailers to monitor purchasing behaviors and determine the best inventory combination for every location, thereby boosting transaction frequency and basket size.
This type of “cashierless checkout” is becoming popular in the food and beverage convenience sector, but other types of retailers are also paying attention.
Make it personal and customers will recall it Customers desire not only that every experience be uncomplicated but also that it be customized to their individual preferences. They expect retailers to recall their preferences and provide informed recommendations in real time, regardless of whether they are buying a coffee or a television.
With data and AI technology at their disposal, retailers boasting millions of customers can provide their sales staff with personalized, real-time insights at the point of sale, helping them to seem as well-informed as a ‘Main Street’ shop owner who has served the same few hundred customers for decades. This encompasses an understanding of the products a customer has bought recently and the product they are most likely to buy next, based on their previous behavior. Due to shoppers’ increased financial resources this year and their prudent approach to spending, this tailoring via predictive analytics will be particularly crucial. When it comes to distinguishing between a satisfied customer and a missed opportunity, personalization can be crucial.
Ensure it is easy, and ensure it is special. This is what our retail customers report hearing from consumers. In retail stores, Americans are now waiting more time in queues than they do altogether at restaurants, pharmacies, doctors’ offices, and banks. Once they reach the front of the line, they want to interact with someone who comprehends their needs. In combination, frictionless commerce and personalization tackle those challenges. They enhance the enjoyment factor of in-store shopping for consumers. And that results in higher profits for retailers.