Ecommerce Trends and Technology
Unique shopping experiences have evolved through geolocation, RFID, NFC, and mobile technology. The goal is to create an optimized shopping experience for defined audiences, in this case specifically targeting a large portion of the market, the Gen Y and Z consumers.
Retailers are able to create real-time engaging actionable advertising through “Snapchat-ization”, offering an exclusive shopping experience and special offers only available to consumers at the shop during a given time. This provides the consumer access to special content, promotions and experiences, enabled through sensors, that are part of a stationary technology, that detect nearby devices and items. This ability allows retailers to showcase not only products and services, but drive digital interactions and experiences as well, while the consumer is in store.
Retailers will use new technology as a resource to capture their markets, and there are many examples how Ecommerce Trends are changing the way consumers shop today.
Brands implement Ecommerce Trends for in-Store experiences
Walgreens, an American pharmacy chain, has created an app that allows customers to renew their prescriptions by scanning labels with their phone camera. The app also displays exclusive content when a customer is near or inside a Walgreens store, and offers context-aware promotions. The goal of the app is to provide more convenience for the consumer, and is aimed to bring customers into the physical store locations when they are already nearby. By providing product information, promotions and access to real-time inventory – supported by in-app customizable shopping lists – their in-store experience is improved, even before the customer steps through the door. As sales of prescription drugs are one of the key revenue drivers for Walgreens, there is also a large focus within the app on showcasing their pharmacy, offering mobile-driven refills, notifications, and pill reminders. App users can also directly message pharmacists through a feature called Pharmacy Chat. The app is consistently ranked on the top 10 lifestyle apps on iOS and Google Play.
Ecommerce Trends driving Consumer Engagement
Better consumer engagement through integrating in-store and digital interaction is a key retail trend, based on changing consumer groups and influenced by changing everyday behavior. Any retailer looking to increase sales to specific target audiences should know their audiences and take changing behavior into consideration to increase revenue and maximize consumer loyalty. As online sales continue to increase year-over-year, consumer behavior learned online will influence brick-and-mortar sales experiences more and more. MPO Global’s partners benefit from our experience both online and in-store. If you want to learn more about how to maximize revenue in today’s changing market environment, contact our team and we will work with you to implement a better consumer experience based on the latest eCommerce trends.
