There's a lot of excitement around the new technologies that retailers are implementing in their stores. But it's not just companies that are more connected, their customers are increasingly connected too.
Today's shoppers increasingly buy with cell phones, tablets, smart watches and other wearables, putting real-time data on discounts and competitive prices at their fingertips.
According to Salesforce research, 71% of customers say they use their mobile devices in stores and eMarketer reports that 69% of consumers look for reviews on their phones before approaching a retail associate.
This leaves retailers with a narrow window of opportunity to meaningfully engage shoppers who might otherwise choose to buy from a competitor.
Connecting to the connected client
The good news is that this proliferation of devices on the web also creates a proliferation of valuable consumer data, which retailers can take advantage of to offer increasingly personalized offers and customer experiences.
To give you an idea, Macy's, an American department store chain, uses beacon technology so that when a customer opens the store's app while shopping, the solution sends targeted promotions and contextual information based on where the customer is in the retail locations.
In many ways, this allows retailers to meet customers where they are and select more touchpoints across the physical and digital shopping experience to achieve unified retail.
It's important to remember that the edge of the network is now the base of physical retail stores. It's the point where an organization and its customers meet. It's where users engage, mobile transactions take place and IoT devices connect and are managed.
Retailers can apply analytics to the data coming in from in-store wireless networks to understand customer preferences and make highly contextual offers tailored to their specific needs. Analytics can also be used to inform location-based services, RFID and electronic shelf labeling to reduce friction in a shopping journey and create impactful experiences.
The need for mobile and secure payments
Consumers expect the in-store checkout experience to be as seamless and efficient as shopping online. Recognizing this, many retailers are deploying IoT payment devices such as tablets, smartphones and smart carts to streamline the checkout process for consumers. In turn, this can also help retailers optimize their in-store operations and resources.
A forecast by McKinsey shows that in the United States alone, automated checkout could reduce the need for cashier staff by up to 75%, resulting in savings of US$ 150 billion to US$ 380 billion per year by 2025.
However, a critical concern that can hinder the successful execution of a mobile payment strategy is security. Ninety percent of consumers do not trust the security of their IoT device, including point-of-sale (POS) devices, according to Gemalto.
Verizon's 2019 Data Breach Investigations Report found that while breaches involving POS have decreased in recent years, attacks against e-commerce payment applications are on the rise, accounting for 81% of breaches.
As the use of mobile-based payments and connected devices grows, so does the attack surface. IT managers must ensure that their in-store network includes a combination of threat detection, protection and surveillance to avoid exposing sensitive business and consumer data.
In addition, most retail IT teams are small, with limited resources, and are responsible for managing multiple retail locations in different regions. A network equipped with machine learning and proactive AI functionality to identify anomalies and potential threats can help increase human intelligence and reduce the time spent manually monitoring for security vulnerabilities.
Modernizing bricks and mortar and connecting the dots
As we enter the busiest shopping season of the year, it's an opportune moment for retailers to assess how their in-store technology elevates or hinders the end-to-end customer journey.
Whether it's high-tech experiential IoT devices, mobile POS systems or your customer's smartphone, remember that the network is critical for a seamless in-store experience.
Contact the experts at Conversys now and find out about Aruba Networks' security, network management and connectivity solutions for Retail.
About Conversys
Conversys IT Solutions is a provider of Information and Communication Technology services and solutions operating throughout Brazil.
With a highly qualified technical and commercial team and a network of partners that includes the main global technology manufacturers, Conversys IT Solutions is able to deliver customized IT and Telecom Infrastructure solutions to clients.
We invest in our employees and partners and strive for a long-lasting relationship with our clients, because we believe that this is how we gain the skills and knowledge we need to innovate and generate value for the businesses in which we operate.
