How the Retail Sector is Set to Change Post Covid-19

By: Retail CIO Outlook | Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Technology is enabling the evolution of all industries and retail is no exception to it. Here are 4 retail tech innovations that will transform the entire retail sector in the post-pandemic world.

Fremont, CA: The retail sector has to adapt to changing environments. Several retailers are using advanced technologies in enhancing customer experience. Nevertheless, the retail space is one of the largest spread industries, globally. The COVID-19 pandemic has severely challenged this sector and retailers have started exploring newer ways to keep the balance by turning towards digital technologies.

Consumers are promised with effortless shopping with online deliveries by matching their expectations of physical stores.

According to a recent CB Insights report, there is an increased investment in in-store retail tech. It has spiked by nearly 60 percent to $3.7 billion in 2019. This is because of the due-realization that tech investment can potentially improve their productivity and profitability. Here are 4 retail tech innovations that can reshape the retail industry.

AR and VR

Coronavirus lockdowns have led to billions quarantining in their homes. Immersive technologies adopted by retail sectors, like Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are engaging shoppers with products before purchase. This trend is likely to increase in the sector.

Data-driven insights provider Coresight, in its report, revealed that AR and VR market is estimated to reach $18.8 billion in 2020, illustrating how the retail sector will see increased spending on it.

Automation

Social distancing has made automation play a crucial role, helping retailers not to break distancing measures while safeguarding their staff from contracting Coronavirus.

Automation involves pulling heavy inventory carts, floor cleaning, among other activities. For example, autonomous navigation systems developer Brain Corp. has deployed more than 10,000 autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) across the U.S., providing 8,000 hours of work each day.

Touchless Tech

In-store shopper behavior have also changed during the pandemic, and retailers have encouraged customers to use mobile self-checkouts. More than 70 percent of shoppers are already using such touchless options, compared to the 29 percent who are shopping online.

Voice

Adopting smart devices like voice assistants in smart speakers are growing globally, as artificial intelligence and Natural language processing (NLP) are developing. Such commerce typically refers to customers’ interaction with a brand, while sales are made by voice recognition tech.

Tech giants like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, are already using it in the form of chatbots, and NLP. A report estimates that the global market of smart speakers would reach from $4,358 million in 2017 to $23,317 million by 2025.