The past years has put up a lot of challenges on the retail industry which were able to topple down several major brands. But it failed to make the industry hopeless even for a bit because many businesses were still able to survive and were now stronger than ever after implementing effective and modernized strategies primarily involving point-of-purchase displays.
This year, everybody will be left a step behind because changes on trends will be once again unpredictable. However, using the lessons of the past and the technology we have in the future, we will discuss what might be the reality for retail businesses this 2020 with high hopes that it will be helpful in coming up with forecasts that will give brands a fruitful year.
Interactive Kiosks as a turning point in Customer Service
Due to the weakening labor force from the past years, retailers started to appreciate and understand the benefits of self-service kiosks such as its cost-effectiveness, self-sufficiency, and reliability in providing fast service especially on product information. Thus, it is seen as effective when integrated on hospitality and quick service restaurant businesses. Through it, a company’s manpower can now be focused on other important tasks such as cleaning the surroundings or shortening the waiting periods.
Turning the Spotlight from E-Commerce to Brick-and-Mortar Stores
More and more online retailers are now transferring to brick-and-mortar stores or looking for partnerships with traditional retailers and experts are seeing that this behavior will continue as it provides a strong positive outcome for businesses.
As it turns out, the convenience that online shopping gives to consumers is becoming less important because they still want to see products physically before handing down their money. Now, manufacturers and retailers are teaming up to allow customers not only to see but to experience their products and services if possible, just like the old times. Upon doing that, a rapid growth in sales has been observed compared to selling online. This supports our point-of-purchase displays and kiosks idea as customers that will visit physical stores will now seek to have a taste of innovation. It is also vital to be consistently interesting and educational for consumers when merchandising products.
Reaching the Other Half of the Crowd
The previous point makes lot of sense and is backed up by facts. However, it doesn’t apply to all types of businesses. At some in time and for some business, e-commerce would still take over. So those companies should be aware of the changing landscape and device a plan not only on how they will survive but also about how they will prosper.
This is particular to malls which must now focus not on bringing the people on stores but otherwise. This has given birth to new retail centers which aims to provide people with everything, from food, entertainment, and health services to clothing and accessories. Through fresh experiences, business can now motivate customers to be loyal and interested to specific brands.
As you can see, there will be a lot of things happening this 2020. But our primary goal to achieve success remains the same; to always provide the best customer experience for those purchasing our products and services.