Technology is enhancing the way customers shop and companies offer products and services.
Technology is constantly improving the way companies communicate with their customers. Retail companies are beginning to see new ways technology is helping them connect with their customers and provide them with a better, more personalized shopping experience.
As technology trends constantly develop, retail companies need to keep up with these trends to stay ahead of their competitors and provide their customers with the best experience possible. Retail companies are beginning to understand that a data-driven approach is the best way to learn about their customers and about trends that are worth investing in.
5 Retail Technology Trends
- Personalization
- Voice Search
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Internet of Things (IoT)
- Security
There are many current retail trends to enhance a customer’s experience with a company. Personalization is a major trend that attracts and retains loyal customers and companies are beginning to realize this. While personalization has always been important for sales and marketing teams to master, 2018 brings personalization to a whole new level of importance. With companies beginning to personalize communications with their customers, they are creating loyal, satisfied audiences that are more likely to become brand loyal and recommend the brand to others.
Marketing automation platforms, CRM systems and more are enhancing the ways companies communicate with their customers on a more meaningful level. Voice technologies are becoming a part of our daily lives and companies are beginning to tap into this technology to drive business. Voice technology allows companies to deliver a more one-on-one experience with their customers. From being able to learn more about a product to having a store associate drop off a different size garment to the dressing room, voice technology will be able to benefit retail stores by offering helpful assistance to customers.
AI is quickly growing in its importance for all types of companies. AI not only processes data more efficiently than humans, it is constantly being merged with machine learning and other technologies to enhance them. AI allows companies to access deeper insights into their customer’s wants and needs and allows companies to offer their customers better solutions and experiences.
Future Retail Technology Trends
As technology continues to improve our lives daily, it is also greatly improving our retail shopping experiences. With new technology being used by supermarkets, customers can now complete their shopping trip online and pick up their items at the store’s curb. We are expecting convenience more and more and this technology caters to that expectation with ease. With this time-efficient option, customers are beginning to stock up on groceries based on what they need as opposed to large shopping trips like they use to do in the past.
New technology is also allowing customers to interact with products more. Many product showrooms are incorporating technology that allows the customer to not only try or interact with products, they are also using technology that allows these customers to interact with salespeople remotely. With new technology, companies are being able to promote their brand to customers more than selling their merchandise to them. Technology in the retail industry is allowing brand stores to communicate the brand’s values to customers, their social and community involvement, provide information on products or services, and convey customer stories, enhancing the loyalty customers have for the brand.
Retail Conferences 2018
- E-commerce Operations Summit in Columbus, OH from April 3-5, 2018
- MODEX Show in Atlanta, GA from April 9-12, 2018
- Seamless Retail in Dubai, UAE from April 15-16, 2018
- World Retail Congress in Madrid, Spain from April 17-19, 2018
- Global Retailing Conference in Tucson, AZ from April 19-20, 2018
- Retail Innovation Conference in Convene, NYC from April 30-May 2, 2018
- Merchant Rick Council Dublin 2018 in Dublin, Ireland from May 14-16, 2018
- Retail Asia Conference in Wan Chai, Hong Kong from June 12-13, 2018
- Forrester’s CX Forum in NYC @ New York Hamilton Midtown from June 19-20, 2018
- Outdoor Retail Summer Market in Denver, CO from July 23-26, 2018
- Online Retailer in Sydney, Australia from July 26-27, 2018
- Innovation Project at Harvard University from August 13-14, 2018
- SCOPE Supply Chain Conference in Denver, CO from August 19-21, 2018
- IRDC in Seattle, WA from October 2-4, 2018
- Manhattan Exchange in Amsterdam, The Netherlands from October 9-10, 2018
- Post Expo 2018 in Hamburg, Germany from October 9-11, 2018
It is important for retailers to keep up with the latest tech trends so they can keep their customers satisfied and to stay ahead of their competitors. Tech trends of 2018 help companies make their customers happier and more loyal and enhance customer experiences. With new technology impacting retail companies today, customers are enjoying a more personalized experience that also makes shopping much easier.
