Technological innovations are our answer to the challenges brought by the COVID-19 outbreak. Today, there has been a big change on shopping, online experiences, and even in the way physical stores are expected by customers.
Technology is one of the remaining reasons why the retail industry is still running. Here are some of the tech trends that are in demand today:
Fully Integrated POS Systems
The COVID-19 pandemic made many business owners realize the importance of e-commerce platforms in optimizing online sales processes. This is evident to the rise in the demand of E-Commerce-Friendly POS systems which help retailers to sell online.
Business owners are now handling multiple sales channels such as brick-and-mortar and e-stores. But they must sync both online and offline transactions, inventory, and promotions. This is where, e-commerce and POS integration will be an optimal solution both during and after the pandemic.
Augmentation in Shopping
When almost everyone was forced to isolate due to COVID-19 quarantine, there was an increase observed in the demand for technologies such as virtual fitting rooms. It seems that the outbreak made augmented shopping an ideal choice for customers because it allows them to interact with products online.
Several brands already opened their own virtual showrooms and fitting rooms to let customers try on products in virtual spaces. Certain businesses also made use of apps to help their customers have a vision of what new furniture will look like in their home.
There are also some systems that are already showing significant potential for the future of augmented shopping. Some allows shoppers to see the look of virtual items when placed on the physical surfaces while some creates realistic interactions between virtual and real goods.
Non-Staff and Cashier-Free Stores
This might not seem good for workers and staff, but if we think about it, social distancing is an efficient measure to prevent coronavirus infection. So, stores that are cashier-less and staff-free are ideal in a society where being too close to someone can get you sick. It does not apply to everything yet though. But for sure it is considerable for many businesses.
Some studies also revealed that there is a change in the shopping habits of customers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in fact, they showed that customers would rather go to stores with contactless or self-checkout stores. This is also expected to give way to the integration of tools that enables digitalization.
Systems that doesn’t require any account or app to be installed would be much convenient for customers because it does not need much effort and it is as close as people can get to going in, grabbing something, paying for it, and leaving out of a store.
Checkout-less transactions
This is where credit and debit card users can automatically pay for their purchases when they leave the store. This is made possible by systems that track items being put on physical carts by the customers, so it is like having a virtual cart. The customer can then just leave after completing the purchase as it will be paid automatically.
This COVID-19 pandemic has brought us all down to our knees, but on a positive note, it opened many opportunities for us to improve in what we do. It just means that in any problem, we can always find a way to learn and develop so we can overcome what’s in front of us.