3 Retail Trends You Must Watch in 2014

1. Mobile Point-of-Sale (POS)

• Standing in line gives customers a chance to rethink the purchase they are about to make, which could result in retailers losing money.

• More than 42% of retailers currently offer mobile POS programs.

Retailers are using mobile POS to reduce customer wait times.

How Big Box Retailers Use Mobile POS Today

• Wal-Mart is testing a Scan & Go feature on the Wal-Mart mobile app, which allows users to scan products in participating Wal-Mart stores and pay at a self-checkout lane.

Wal-Mart’s Scan & Go Service

How Starbucks Uses Mobile To Boost Sales

• Starbucks is a leader when it comes to digital and mobile technologies.

• U.S. customers now use Starbucks’ mobile payments app to make, on average, more than

4.5 million mobile transactions per week. • In fiscal 2013, Starbucks generated $1 billion in

revenue from smartphone transactions, according to estimates from BI Intelligence.

2. Beacon Technology

• Using Apple’s iBeacon technology, retailers can send targeted messages and coupons to nearby consumers.

• The number of U.S. smartphone owners using mobile coupons is set to top more than 47 million this year.

It’s all about creating value for the customer

How Retailers Are Using iBeaconsMacy’s is currently testing iBeacons in select stores throughout the U.S. In doing so, Macy’s is able to send special promotions and product recommendations to participating iPhones as the customers navigate through its stores. Other retailers, as well as major sports teams, are also using the technology to drive sales today.

3. Digitalizing the In-Store Experience

• Almost 70% of consumers today go online before they shop in stores, according to research from Deloitte. However, shoppable windows now bring the online experience into the store.

Kate Spade tested digital storefronts with shoppable windows in New York last fall.

Other Ways Retailers Are Beefing Up In-Store Tech

• lululemon athletica is rolling out digital technology to all of its U.S. stores that will allow customers to shop Lululemon’s online inventory while in the store.

• Department store chain Kohl’s is experimenting with smart fitting-room technology. Smart fitting rooms use radio frequency identification, or RFID, sensors to pick up signals from RFID tags on the clothes and bring up additional information about those items on a touchscreen.

• Last year, eBay debuted digital storefronts for Sony, TOMS, and Rebecca Minkoff stores in the Westfield Mall in San Francisco.

Delivering a Seamless Experience

It is no longer enough for brick-and-mortar retailers to simply offer an online sales channel. In today’s

evolving retail landscape, physical retail chains also need to tailor the in-store experience to better fit

mobile and digital-savvy consumers. Moreover, the best retailers today are succeeding by creating a

seamless customer experience both online and in-store.

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