Tag: #Internet of things

Is Phygital Retail the Future of Retail and e-Commerce?

Posted on by Omprasad Devadiga

In the rapidly evolving retail landscape, the term “phygital” has gained significant traction. A blend of “physical” and “digital,” phygital retail represents the seamless integration of physical and digital experiences, creating a unified and enhanced shopping journey for consumers. This approach is not just a trend; it’s becoming a cornerstone of modern retail strategies. But is phygital retail truly the future of retail and e-Commerce? Let’s explore.

The Rise of Phygital Retail

Phygital retail is all about blending the tactile experience of physical stores with the convenience and efficiency of digital platforms. This hybrid approach leverages the strengths of both realms to provide consumers with a holistic shopping experience. The rise of phygital retail can be attributed to several key factors:

  • Consumer Expectations: Modern consumers are tech-savvy and expect a seamless shopping experience across all channels. They want the ability to browse online, touch and feel products in-store, and make purchases through whichever medium they prefer.
  • Technological Advancements: Technologies such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), artificial intelligence (AI), and the Internet of Things (IoT) have made it possible to create immersive and interactive shopping experiences that bridge the gap between the physical and digital worlds.
  • Omni-channel Strategy: Retailers are increasingly adopting omni-channel strategies to ensure a consistent and integrated customer experience. Phygital retail is a natural extension of this approach, allowing retailers to engage with customers at multiple touchpoints.

Benefits of Phygital Retail

The phygital retail model offers numerous benefits for both retailers and consumers:

  • Enhanced Customer Experience: By combining the best of both worlds, phygital retail creates a more engaging and personalised shopping experience. Customers can enjoy the tactile satisfaction of in-store shopping along with the convenience of online browsing and purchasing.
  • Increased Sales and Loyalty: Phygital retail encourages consumers to interact with brands across multiple channels, leading to increased sales and customer loyalty. For example, a customer might discover a product online, try it in-store, and then make a purchase via a mobile app.
  • Data-Driven Insights: The integration of digital tools allows retailers to collect and analyse data on consumer behavior, preferences, and purchase patterns. This data can be used to optimise marketing strategies, tailor product offerings, and improve overall customer satisfaction.
  • Operational Efficiency: Phygital retail can streamline operations by leveraging technologies such as automated inventory management, smart checkout systems, and real-time data analytics. This leads to cost savings and improved efficiency.

How ETP Unify Helps in the Phygital Retail

ETP Unify, the powerful cloud-native platform by ETP Group is at the forefront of enabling phygital retail experiences. Our comprehensive suite of unified commerce solutions is designed to seamlessly integrate physical and digital touchpoints, providing a consistent and engaging customer journey. Here’s how ETP Unify helps in the phygital retail context:

  • Omni-channel Integration: ETP Unify facilitates seamless integration across various channels, including online stores, mobile apps, and physical stores. This ensures that customers can transition effortlessly between different touchpoints while enjoying a consistent experience.
  • Advanced Analytics: ETP Unify leverages AI and machine learning to analyse customer data and provide actionable insights. Retailers can use this data to personalise the shopping experience, optimise inventory management, and enhance marketing strategies.
  • Real-Time Inventory Management: With ETP Unify, retailers can maintain accurate and real-time visibility of inventory across all channels. This ensures that customers can always find the products they need, whether they are shopping online or in-store.
  • Seamless Checkout Experience: ETP Unify offers advanced checkout solutions that combine the convenience of digital payments with the tactile experience of in-store shopping. Features like mobile POS and self-checkout kiosks enhance the phygital experience.
  • Customer Engagement: ETP Unify helps retailers engage with customers through personalised promotions, loyalty programs, and targeted marketing campaigns. By understanding customer preferences and behavior, retailers can create more meaningful and lasting connections.

Phygital retail is not just a buzzword; it represents the future of retail and e-Commerce. By blending the strengths of physical and digital experiences, retailers can create a more engaging, efficient, and personalised shopping journey for their customers. ETP Unify is committed to helping retailers navigate this transformation, providing the tools and solutions needed to thrive in the phygital retail landscape.

As we move forward, the lines between physical and digital retail will continue to blur, making it essential for retailers to embrace the phygital approach. With ETP Unify, you can stay ahead of the curve and deliver exceptional experiences that keep your customers coming back for more.

The Future of Stores: Driving Bigger Baskets with Smart Retail Solutions

Posted on by Omprasad Devadiga

 

Did you know the first product to be barcode scanned was a pack of Wrigley chewing gum at an Ohio supermarket in 1974? Fascinating, isn’t it? This changed the retail game forever. As revolutionary as it sounds, this transformed the way people shop. Barcodes not only help business owners track their stocks but also help in quicker checkout processes for customers.

From the invention of the cash register in 1883 to the digital age of online shopping, we have come a long way. Over the years, technologies have made business owners’ lives easy as well as hugely influenced consumer’s choices and habits. This has only encouraged businesses to keep up with the technologies. The faster the technologies, the more sophisticated the customer’s behavior.

Online shopping has taken the retail world by storm due to the conveniences and tailored shopping experiences, it offers its customers. However, shoppers still like to visit a brick-and-mortar retail store to experience the product or services closely. This has further encouraged retail stores to optimize their in-store customer experiences using smart retail technology such as Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, the Internet of Things, robotics, and other latest technologies. Before diving deep into smart retail technology, let us take you through the basics. What exactly is smart retail technology?

What Is Smart Retail?

A smart retail is nothing but a store that has integrated advanced digital technologies including smart self-checkout systems, smart inventory management, smart carts, and smart mirrors and shelves; into the traditional retail store. This next-generation technology helps deepen the interaction between customers and the shops. 

How Do Smart Retail Solutions Help Store Owners And Shoppers?

  • Creates a customer portfolio by capturing visitors’ data more precisely
  • Ensures stable income and traffic by bringing back customers with easy-to-navigate and interactive stores
  • Enable smooth operations with advanced inventory and client management systems
  • Avoids task overload by automating the duties saving a great of shop owners’ time
  • Helps businesses stay ahead of their competitors who still using traditional retail ultimately winning the market 

Smart Retail Technologies That Will Define The Store Of The Future

  • Internet of Things (IoT) can collect real-time data which can be used to monitor inventory levels, consumer movement tracking and shopping patterns, etc
  • AI & ML can analyze the collected data to customize marketing efforts, enhance inventory management and pricing strategies
  • Mobile apps give customers access to offers, discounts, and recommendations
  • AR & VR allows immersive shopping experiences for customers
  • Beacon technology can be used to send offers & location-based notifications to customers’ smartphones who are in-store
  • Big Data Analytics allows to analyze huge data collected from different sources to make data-driven decisions
  • Robotics and automation can help shelves restock, handle warehouse inventory, and assist customers with basic inquiries 

What Are Some Applications Of Smart Retail Technology?

Smart mirrors:  Acts as navigation, information & advertising board, and advanced fitting space. It can help store visitors try on clothes and accessories and will also allow them to visualize more products, and choose colour variations in different weather settings.

Virtual fitting space: Allows visitors to choose items without leaving the fitting rooms by contacting the consultants through a smart mirror in the fitting room.

Smart shelves: Help staff track the item’s availability, misplacement, and theft attempts. Moreover, it will help customers find the right product size and colour.

Interactive kiosks: Self-service kiosks where customer can order and pay for their product. Other kinds of kiosks are information and interactive kiosks where visitors can find any product or information about the shops and 3D maps of shopping locations.

Real-time inventory: Helps business owner keep track of their stock in real-time and ultimately take control of their stocks. This is a way to enhance customer experience and they hate to see their desired product go out of stock.

Smart carts: A tablet that will convert the cart into a smart cart. These carts can track products bought and tailor offers based on the data. Moreover, they also allow visitors to make payments from the cart without standing in a queue. 

What Does The Future Hold?

Retail stores are keen to adopt smart retail solutions and their interest has been increasing rapidly over the last few years. Whether it is to transform their customer shopping experience or to provide a personalized and immersive service, businesses need to keep up with the latest technologies if they want to bridge the gap between online and offline retail.

3 Important Tips for Retail Business Success in 2019

Posted on by admin

Etp-blog-3-important-tips-for-retail-business-success-in-2019
The New Year is almost here and retail businesses must look forward to getting it spot on, right from the word go. It is therefore important for retailers to rely on learnings from the past while strategizing for success in the new year. So let’s look at 3 important factors that will help retailers get it right in retail in 2019.

  • Striving for Seamless integration across the business: It is now or never for retailers, where ‘unified commerce’ is concerned. Shoppers are increasingly demanding seamless experiences across channels. Operating in silos will surely spell doom for retail businesses. On the other hand, integrating channels and business processes will provide dual benefits – single version of the truth, seamless flow of information. Data is key to delivering outstanding experiences to customer. Having the right information related to product and inventory across channels, and having a thorough knowledge of the customer while ensuring that multiple channels are well integrated in the business system will enable retail brands to deliver exceptional retail experiences to their customers.
  • Focusing on Lifetime value rather than transaction value: Retail brands should stop focusing on the value of the transaction, rather they should look at how much value a customer brings to the retail business throughout their lifetime. This approach will provide a more holistic insight while managing customer relationships. While using on a transaction value based approach will help retailers to increase the value of a single transaction, focusing on the lifetime value will allow retailers to design strategies that will be enable them to extract more value of the customer. Further, this approach will aid in customer retention and cementing brand loyalty while ensuring repeat business and creating brand advocates.
  • Staying abreast with technology advancements that could disrupt: Every new technology that made its headway into the retail industry has led to the disruption of the business, primarily in 2 ways; i) consumers adopted technology faster leading to changes in their shopping behavior and shopping journeys, ii) businesses who were early adopters used technology to enhance their processes and operations which made traditional methods obsolete. Some of the biggest game changers in recent times have been e-commerce, mobile commerce, omni-channel, virtual reality (VR) & augmented reality (AR), Internet of things (IoT), and Artificial Intelligence (AI) being the latest entrant. It is necessary for retail owners to equip their business with the right retail technology for futureproofing their investments.

Gearing up with the right attitude while aiming to work towards making their business better using the above tips will allow retailers to have a Happy New Year 2019.