Inside Outdoor Winter 2018

The Sprawl Up to this point, most consumers have had small tastes of lots of different types of emerging and advanced in-store technolo- gies. And that’s a big part of the challenge for smaller retailers. Essentially, every new technology that hits the hype cycle is somehow being applied to the retail experience. Retail CIO types face an ever- widening and head-spinning number of choices as to where to direct tech investment and virtually no clarity as to what is truly “the next big thing.” Cases are being made for everything from artificial intelligence and robotics to augmented and virtual reality to the internet of things to smart dressing rooms and interactive kiosks to social media analytics, 3D printing and channel integration. The list goes on. Indeed, we are seeing small percent- ages of retailers experimenting with a large array of emerging technologies, show several retailer surveys. In turn, awareness among shoppers for most advanced tech still remains rather mod- est. Usage is even slimmer, and the value or benefits of particular technolo- gies are not always understood. Only about 15 percent of shoppers surveyed separately by both NRF and Salesforce Research, for example, have shopped in a store with interactive digital signage, while similar numbers so far have been assisted by mobile-enabled store em- ployees. About a third or less of respon- dents are even aware of the availability of in-store mobile apps, with single-digit percentages, not surprisingly, having encountered nascent tech such as 3D printing, AR/VR or smart dressing rooms at retail. Less than one in five to 10 per- cent of consumers surveyed by Sales- force Research currently grasp how a number of advanced technologies, such as AI-enhanced customer interactions, mobile wallets, automated ordering and social media analytics, improve their shopping experience. Perhaps this is to be expected. After all, emerging tech is, by definition, Source: National Retail Foundation 24% 18% 17% Smart dressing rooms Customer Service Technologies in Place Source: BRP Consulting In-store real-time order status visibility Product locator app Videoconferencing - customer uses to shop from home with associate in store Customer self-checkout through app Virtual closet Videoconferencing - customer uses in store to speak with call center 8% 5% 18% 45% 3% 3% 19% 11% 47% 8% 23% 5% 19% 13% 44% Implemented and working well Implemented but needs improvement Plan to implemented within 3 years winter 2018 | Inside Outdoor 31