For yet another year, Catchoom was among the industry leaders invited to take the stage at Augmented World Expo in the heart of Silicon Valley, to share some of the hottest tech trends that will shape how people shop, play and interact over the next few years.
One of most important areas where technology like Augmented Reality (AR) or Artificial Intelligence (AI) can create the most business value is the Retail & eCommerce sector.
In the past few years, retail has been heavily disrupted by the integration of information technologies. Yet, a report by the World Economic Forum and Accenture predicts that the retail landscape is going to change more in the next 10 years than it has done in the past 40 years.
Consumer needs are evolving, with a growing demand for meaningful experiences and easily accessible, transparent information about price and quality anywhere, anytime.
Retail experiences are going through a revival as both brick-and-mortar stores and eCommerce sites adopt advanced tech that is responding to these needs and transform the customer journey.
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) have been gaining traction in the retail landscape, increasingly attracting marketing spend. According to Digi-Capital, by 2021 the AR and VR market will reach $108 billion in revenue, bringing in $83 billion and $25 billion respectively. Within that market, as IDC predicts it, retail will become the No. 1 industry for AR/VR spending.
They are both two points of the same spectrum and aim to add similar value in retail, providing personalized and engaging experiences. While AR consists in overlaying digital content upon the real world, enriching it with interactivity, VR immerses users into an alternate reality, completely disconnected from the actual world.
Showrooming and webrooming are both big consumer trends that are changing the retail landscape, as alternative channels of purchase proliferate. The first one refers to checking out a product in-store and then buying it online, such as on eCommerce sites like Amazon, for a better price. The latter is the opposite; it’s about researching products online and then heading to a store to complete the purchase.
According to a Harris poll, 46% engage in showrooming. That means that almost half of in-store visitors leave the premises without buying on the spot. That is a huge revenue loss for both online and offline retail sectors.
Millennials are one of the largest demographic segments of our planet. In the US alone, they account for almost 80 million citizens and they spend an average of $600 billion per year. They are the first truly digital generation and differ greatly from the average consumer.
They respond differently to marketing and mistrust traditional advertising. Companies must, therefore, address this change in values and shopping habits if they want to reach out to these young, digitally native consumers.
Brands and retailers find it increasingly hard to follow their potential customers through their decision-making journey, as it expands way beyond the stores and into people’s lives. Every moment the brand is contact with a consumer - every touchpoint - counts, and it might be critical to the purchase decision.
Technologies such as Augmented Reality and Image Recognition can enhance the customer experience and optimize the decision making journeys, by leveraging on emotional engagement and customer education.
This guide will show you how to implement this tech in each different step of the customer journey to create meaningful touchpoints that generate an emotional connection and reinforce the value of customer relationships with every interaction.
Mobile is already influencing almost 1/3 of all in-stores sales made.
Why? Because these people want to make faster and smarter decisions when shopping. Augmented Reality and Image Recognition technology can be used in retailers' mobile apps to cater to these needs.
As the line between the digital and the real world continues to blur, we see a new trend in retail, where traditional brick-and-mortar and ecommerce are blending into one: a digital in-store experience.
In the US, mobile phones already influence 28% of in-store sales and 83% of customers using their phone while shopping. Therefore, retailers should be paying attention to what these devices can add to the shopping experience they offer.