The Internet of Things is a growing trend in all industries. The IoT technology opens up a world of possibilities for businesses by allowing things to connect to the internet. The IoT technology is changing the way we do business. We can now use virtual assistants to assist us at every stage of our journey, and wearable devices to track and analyse each step.
This is especially true for the Retail sector. Retailers are exploring IoT technology and developing use cases to suit their customers. Businesses are exploring how IoT technology can be used to improve customer experience and create a digital ecosystem.
Online to Offline:
The Internet of Things is a backward trend for the Retail sector. Although retailers used to believe that e-commerce was the only way to succeed, they now realise that physical shopping is an option.
Virtual connectivity is being used by more retailers to offer personalised shopping experiences, create digital stores and allow remote product interaction. This completely changes the way that customers interact with physical stores.
This trend has opened up new possibilities for the Internet of Things in the retail space.
How the IoT is Changing Retail
Deloitte recently found that top 25 retailers have experienced a loss of $64 billion in a study.
In market share to smaller players that were fueled digital transformation and innovation.
Here are some ways the IoT is changing retail:
Better In-store Experiences – With IoT technology, retailers can offer better in-store experience to customers. The Internet of Things gives retailers the opportunity to create a better ecosystem that connects their physical store and their online store, greatly improving customer experience. This creates a bidirectional flow of information and data, which allows for better shopping experience across both platforms. These interactions are made possible by the smartphone. Retailers can also interact with customers as they enter their stores using Beacon technology. Store managers can track every customer’s path after they enter their store, allowing them to learn more about their buying habits.
- Amazon’s Robotic Stock Maintenance – Amazon currently has 45,000 robots in its warehouses around the globe. In the near future, robots will replace human workers who do repetitive tasks. Robotic workforces can be a boon for the retail industry. Robots are able to free employees from dangerous and risky tasks in warehouses and stockrooms. This will reduce the risk of goods being damaged in an accident and protect employees from injury. This allows employees to be transferred to customer-facing positions that require their expertise. Robots can be used for stock maintenance and to warn of inventory drops below a certain threshold.
- Personalized Buyer Journey – With the IoT comes a host of data. Data about the customer’s preferences, their buying behavior, their interests and favorite products to buy. This data can be leveraged to create personalized shopping experiences for all buyers. Frequently returning customers can be rewarded for their loyalty. Alternatively, IoT can be used to track what a customer has been looking for online, and when they are in the store, they can be offered the product at a discounted price. In a wrap, the Internet of Things comes with a wide variety of applications and required you to exercise your creativity and foresight to optimize its use.
- Smart Shelves – Your employees spend a lot of their time and energy in keeping
track of stock and ensuring it doesn’t go out. Additionally, retailers have a need to predict future demand and manage their inventory accordingly. Smart shelves can help retailers automate both while also detecting theft. Smart shelves have weight sensors and RFID tags to scan products and inform you when items are running low or are incorrectly placed on the shelf. This makes inventory management precise and efficient. You can also save money on security cameras and personnel as RFID tags and readers detect in-store theft.
- Optimized Supply Chain Management – While retailers can gather information on products without the help of IoT technology, but it would be less efficient. The Internet of Things helps retailers obtain precise data such as how long a food item took in transit, the temperature at which an item is stored, and so on. Retailers and grocery stores can avoid loss by continually tracking these aspects of their product’s journey within and outside their store.
IoT solutions, in essence, are helping retailers streamline operations, optimize resource usage, and increase revenue.
A Glance into the Future of Retail
Amazon Go is a wonderful example of how technology can shape buyer experience at a retail store. Recently, Amazon launched its long-awaited store in Seattle. Amazon Go merges technology and physical reality shaping a unique shopping experience. With a quick scan on the Amazon Go app, shoppers can choose what they want and leave without even halting to pay.
Imagine walking into a retail store and getting a notification on your mobile device about a discount on the product you were wanting to get for a long time. Or, getting notified about the exact placement of the products you regularly buy. These are the instances that give us a glance into the future of retail.
Challenges Ahead
Since IoT solutions rely on Big Data, management and security of this sensitive buyer data is a challenge for retailers. While the data brings in insights and information retailers can use, it also amplifies the risk of getting the data compromised.
On top of that, there is the need to partner with the right IoT app development company that can implement a customised IoT application for your business. Any lack of support from a trusted mobile app development partner can lead to a failed IoT project.
Another challenge for retailers is the cost of setting up the infrastructure for IoT implementation. The solution for this is to start small- retailers can begin their IoT journey through a tiny use case such as using IoT to manage the temperature or lighting- applications that bring in immediate ROI.
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Data analysis and management requires expertise from proficient data scientists. Retail businesses can hire in-house experts who can help them analyse customer data or can partner with an iot software development services provider who offers comprehensive services from one end to the other.
Retail Innovation IT Company Debuting At The Cloud Expo London 2022
IoT solutions need to be customised for each unique requirement. For the retail sector, this can be done by a mobile app development partner who knows the retail industry in and out.
CDN Solutions Group is your ideal partner for IoT app development. With over 18 years of experience developing and deploying solutions in the retail industry all over the world, we assure the quality of software.
We house a team of the most skilled developers, enthusiasts, and designers who can help you leverage the IoT technology to boost your revenue and business. We comprehend your requirements and aim to improve your key KPIs. Since every business is different, we develop custom solutions that answer your needs and blend in with your customers.
If you want to meet our executives and discuss your digital transformation journey, see us at the Cloud Expo Europe 2022. We are an IT Company Debuting At The Cloud Expo London 2022, hoping to get our hands on more challenges in the retail space so we can define solutions for them.