Whether we shop in person or online, technology trends have completely changed how we do it. Technology trends are playing a much more essential role in controlling the interface between buyer and seller, from suggested drone deliveries of online orders to interactive “self-check-in” at airports.
As a result, customers require less human attention to complete their purchasing experience. We can only anticipate a spike of similar technologies over the next ten years that attempt to replace human labor along the entire shopping supply chain, from the initial point of contact with the customer through the delivery of the goods to the customer’s front door.
As we explore in the article, these technologies improve customer service by allowing retailers to provide much more individualized attention to each customer. As a result, there are a huge number of additional options for retailers to sell goods to customers.
Interactivity
As early as the 2000s, when touch displays first became more extensively utilized, the idea of interaction started to alter the shopping experience. Over ten years later, touchscreen technology trends had advanced significantly, grown much more dependable and marketable, and as a result, had been incorporated into the majority of modern phones and laptops. These adjustments quickly affected the dynamics of communication between the buyer and the vendor, permanently altering the purchasing experience.
Customers can try on clothes without having to look for sizes and different colors inside the actual store thanks to Topshop and Timberland’s “virtual fitting room” experience, which projects an image of the customer onto a huge screen.
Shopping for groceries has also changed as a result of interaction, with customers now able to check out their own purchases without having to speak to a human at all.
Similar interactive solutions make it possible for customers to check in for flights without needing to go through a human being every step of the way.
AI, virtual assistants, and augmented reality in retail
Retailers are enhancing the shopping experience with augmented reality, which is resulting in more sales opportunities.
Consider the “magic mirror” in augmented reality that cosmetics retailer Charlotte Tilbury just created. Customers enter their store and sit down in front of the “magic mirror,” which scans their faces and virtually “applies” makeup. Several goods are combined to produce several “looks.” The customer can then quickly and simply buy their favorite products after seeing many suggested “looks” on the screen.
The development of robotics in retail has been more gradual, but it has had a significant impact on how people purchase. With the launch of Chloe, a robotic customer service assistant at its Manhattan location, the US multinational electronics giant Best Buy set pulses racing in the robotics industry in 2017. In order to determine how much restocking is necessary, Fujitsu has created a robot that roams the shop aisles scanning merchandise. Customers gain from faster delivery due to a more effective supply chain, thanks to the operational improvement for merchants.
The rise of virtual assistants like Apple’s Siri and Alexa is also having a dramatic effect on the shopping experience. Users can ask Siri to utilize their specified preferences to search the internet for goods and services that are either nearby or that fit their tastes. Because Siri has some abilities that are considerably beyond those of the average person, she can quickly gather comparison data, such as reviews and suggestions, and advise customers on the best pricing.
3-D printing technology
Customers may now order their preferred products directly from the point of production rather than choosing from a variety of generic products that have already been developed and manufactured thanks to 3-D printers. The shopping experience will now be tailored to the precise preferences of the customers, boosting the likelihood of profitable transactions.
Chatbots
Retailers are using chatbots more frequently to interact with customers and keep them on their websites for longer. Chatbots communicate with site visitors using instant chat and can be set up to approach them while they are actively visiting the website.
Automated chatbots are capable of performing simple tasks like checking stock levels and responding to visitors’ basic concerns. In order to ensure that customer questions are promptly and pleasantly addressed, more and more shops are using chatbot functionality that is driven by actual humans.
Price aggregators and price monitoring
Retailers must take a deep look at their pricing strategy because it is constantly possible to compare prices for identical services and goods up to the second. Price monitoring software is used by many merchants, which gives them an analysis of how their competitors’ pricing is established and how price advantages might be gained through shipping discounts and other deals.
Drones
Although the idea of using drone technology trends to deliver things bought online or in stores is still in development, it has the potential to have a significant impact on the shopping experience once it is developed to the point where it can be used securely and lawfully.
Although there are still bugs and difficulties in the development of a working drone delivery system, Amazon has made significant investments in the development of drone technology trends with its Prime Air system, and many experts believe that the widespread use of drones to deliver goods is only a few years away.
Technology trends have transformed the way we shop, and there is more to come.
Retailers continue to spend extensively on technology trends that can help with their operations and their capacity to sell directly to consumers, so it is evident that technology trends are becoming more fundamental to the shopping experience. Both the internet and offline sales sectors are experiencing this.
In several areas, including robotics, augmented reality, interaction, 3D printing, drone technology trends, and pricing aggregation, the power of machines is being tapped. Over the next ten years, it’s expected that the amount of technology trends used by sellers to assist in direct customer sales will expand.
