Trends have a lot to play in the retail market. It has been seen that trends drive consumer purchases. So, retailers have spent the past few years learning the art to read the market’s flow and provide their product and services at the peak of the excitement.
However, many retailers have restricted themselves from seeing the full potential when it comes to retail technology trends before they can make a move.
To succeed in the 2021 market, retailers need to be aggressive, agile with their plans, and insightful while selecting the right technology to cope with the ever-changing shopping experience expectations. It is also important that retailers leverage new technology in order to gain the first mover advantage in the industry.
Technologies That Are Powering E-commerce And Digital Retail Market
The retail market is in its early phase of innovation. The key that has catalysed the innovations are the technologies that are positively disrupting the whole market. Smart retailers have tuned up themselves to spot new emerging technologies that might be beneficial for the business.
Here are the technologies that power eCommerce and digital retail markets.
Smart Mirrors
Fitting rooms in a retail shopping mall are an unavoidable element. However, most of the customers despise them. According to a survey, it has been found that more than 40% of the customers hate trying clothes in the fitting room. The survey also states that the customers who try clothes are more likely to make purchases than the customers who are just browsing through.
That means, if you can do something about that 40% of the customers who hate trying clothes in the fitting room, you will be able to boost your sales. This is where smart mirrors come into action. Smart mirrors are camera recorders that record an eight-second video of a 360-degree view of how the piece of clothing looks on you.
Video Technology
As the stores are more likely to become digital, digital technology is more likely to become stores. We are heading towards a future where the word digital and eCommerce will mean the same.
There are platforms from consumer to consumer platforms where viewers can live stream and discuss online products and services. We are not far from having a home shopping network.
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Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence has become one of the core technologies in every industry. The retail industry has been most influenced by artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence has the potential to increase the efficiency of the retail market by preventing mistakes while delivering services to customers.
There are big names like Alibaba and Stitch Fix, which use artificial intelligence technology to locate the best location for the inventories and optimise routes for future communications.
Augmented and Virtual Realities (AR and VR)
The problem with online shopping is that it is hard to imagine what it will look like. For instance, if you are buying furniture or a sofa, it is hard to imagine how it will look like in your home. No matter how much you imagine, it will never bore an exact result.
However, with augmented reality, you will know the actual size of the product you are buying and how it will look in your bedroom or your living room. These things might seem minor but play an essential role in catalysing consumer’s purchase decisions.
Chatbots
Another new technology that has been disrupting the retail market is Chatbots. Chatbots are messengers that chat with the consumer in your place when you are offline. With the help of this technology, you will be able to engage with your customer 24X7.
Conclusion
The year 2020 is about to end. So, it is the perfect way to see back and access the retail market and e-commerce platforms’ growth. The technologies that I have talked about are the selected few that have shown promising changes, but that does not mean that there are no other technologies that can stimulate the eCommerce and retail market.
Browse through the market, mention the technologies that meet your eye, and don’t forget to mention your reasons.
