Published on January 30th, 2020 | by Christopher Porteus

4 New Technologies for Retail Stores

Technology is advancing more and more quickly each year, and all areas of commerce must keep up with the new technology available. Shopping is an entirely new business compared to the last ten years, with recent technology changing the market dramatically. If you want to keep competitive, here are some things to look into.

Advancement in POS systems

An essential for any store, retail POS, or point-of-sale systems are becoming more and more intelligent. Most stores now will use an automated system, often linked to their website. This makes it easier for them to deal with all aspects of sales. Including online purchases, returns, and serving customers more efficiently.

There are several aspects of more modern POS systems that benefit any retail store. They can centralize purchasing and save time by allowing you to order from integrated catalogs straight from the device you’re using. You can keep track of your inventory, as they will inform you when items are low-stock, and keep track of what’s sold.

As they fully integrate your system, you can tailor things more personally to a customer’s needs. The system will allow you to see customer profiles, and to keep track of purchase history. This will give you the option to send out personalized offers to valued customers.

Expanded Range of Search Options

Something that has changed drastically in the last year or so is the way that customers shop. More and more people want to wear clothes that they see on Instagram. This has caused influencers to have an even more significant impact on what clothes people are buying.

It’s advisable to make sure that you have a website that people can link to their Instagram accounts. If customers can use the new one-click feature to link directly to your site, people are more likely to buy your clothes if they see them on social media.

If you are a new or smaller business, it may be worth offering to people to become ambassadors for you. This is another growing trend because it allows small businesses to get a broader audience on social media. If you offer your products at a discount to certain people who then share with their followers, you will get more sales.

Augmented and Virtual Reality

The technology for this may not be perfected for all kinds of products as yet and isn’t available to every customer, but it’s definitely a growing trend. Often in the form of an app, using this kind of technology can allow customers to see the products, particularly furniture, in the setting of their own home.

This gives people more of a sense that they know something is going to look good before they buy it. This will provide them with more confidence in the purchase and therefore make them more likely to complete the sale. This is something that will get even more popular as technology progresses.

Checkout-free Stores

This is something already in use by the larger retail companies. The idea is that the store constantly monitors each customer as they move around and take the items they want. So that when you walk out, you receive an email receipt for all of the products that you’ve ‘purchased.’

Currently, this is regulated by the use of an app, which each customer will scan as they enter the store. This allows the system to charge the relevant account and send the receipt to the right customer.

There are further advancements to be made in this kind of technology, with fully-automated stores seeming likely to be something we will see in the future. The current technology is already becoming more popular.

Conclusion

These are just a few of the swiftly growing number of technologies available. New things are coming all the time. Make sure to do your research on what’s out there and how it can benefit both your business and your customers.

About the Author

Christopher Porteus Chris Porteous is a veteran in the tech space, founding Framestr and writing about his experiences scaling startups. When he's not working, he's writing about the latest tech products and providing insights on how to utilize technology to improve your life.