Covid 19 pandemic poses a variety of challenges for retail businesses in terms of store development and customer satisfaction. In order to tackle these challenges, impressive retail innovations were created.
We would like to mention in this article some trending retail ideas with the purpose of supporting store owners to thrive in the recent situation.
Overview
Social commerce
Despite the hit of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the end of brick-and-mortar stores, there is a significant increase reported in the online shopping industry this year. Customers now can make purchases from any social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, etc. In 2020, nearly 41% of the customers are reported to buy products and services on online social platforms. Apparently, social platforms are no longer used only for entertaining purposes but also for developing online retail businesses.
Back in 2018, it was reported by 66% of analyzed brands adopting social commerce features, according to Gartner. And according to a Business Insider Intelligence study, in 2020, 500 top retailers announced that social shopping brought them approximately $11.9 billion.
Influencer marketing
Influencer marketing is an innovative form of social media marketing. This retail innovation utilizes endorsements and product placement from people who have social influence in particular fields on social media platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, or other online channels.
In 2020, lots of brands decided to adopt influencer marketing strategies to approach target customers and inform the public about their products. This method is also considered as an effective channel that brands interact with their customers.
Shopping experiences powered by AR
According to a 2019 global Nielsen survey, 51% of analyzed customers say that they want to experience Augmented Reality (AR) technology.
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The increasing popularity of AR technology originated from the virtual try-before-you-buy experiences. The AR technology allows customers to preview their orders from being added into the shopping cart until reaching customers. For retailers, Augmented Reality reduces the risks of returns since customers tend to be more confident when making purchases.
Online to offline business
O2O commerce is a modern business strategy that is increasingly popular in the retail industry. To be more detailed, this strategy encourages potential customers to buy products or services in stores by using emails or Internet advertising. Besides, when implementing this strategy, retailers can enhance customer satisfaction by providing customers with chances to purchase items online and pick them up in brick and mortar stores.
Taking Amazon as a clear example of how online to offline business benefits retailers. In 2017, this business earned $13.7 billion from the purchase of Whole Foods by implementing this strategy.
Contactless shopping
This retail innovation has been making waves during covid19 pandemics as more and more retailers are spending time and efforts implementing the strategy. According to a new study, 27% of small business survey respondents have seen a rise in customers paying with their cell phones or contactless cards. On the other hand, customers are also satisfied with contactless shopping due to their concern of being infected after interacting with terminals. Additionally, when being asked, the majority of customers approve that contactless shopping saves them a considerable amount of time at the cash registers.
When it comes to adopting contactless shopping, the POS system is one of the utmost factors. Thanks to POS systems, traditional cash registers and credit card readers have been phased out in favor of tablet and cloud-based POS systems.
ConnecPOS is always considered one of the most powerful POS systems in the current market. This solution has been supporting more than 1000 businesses worldwide in the preparation for a contactless future.
Final thought
These innovations have made changes in the way retailers interact with their customers and fulfil their constantly changing requirements. By properly evaluating the current market and timely upgrading businesses with powerful strategies, retailers are entirely able to avoid loss of profit and even obtain larger market share.
In the pursuit of realizing these modern innovations, a powerful POS system like ConnectPOS is required. We are offering 14 days free trial for every business that is concerned with developing your business. Contact us today!