August 24, 2020 
The modern consumers expect a seamless user experience, wherever and whenever they browse and shop for products, therefore taking an omnichannel approach in retail is becoming increasingly important.
Deploying futuristic technology gives access to technically advanced tools which help brands avail and achieve a powerful omnichannel strategy.
With the rise in the expectations of customers, increases pressure on merchants to meet their needs. Especially at this time of pandemic which everyone is facing worldwide has spiked the use of mobile shopping and the omnichannel commerce experiences.
Retail stores are forced to shut down physically which has resulted in many retailers opt the digital way to connect with their customers.
Impact of Technology on Online Retail
As per the Forrester’s The State of Retailing Online 2019 report, stores are growing so are eCommerce expenses. The digital presence of a business can be seen dominating the physical stores.
A clear competition is evident among the sellers to provide the customers with the best experience.
The digital marketing is slowly overtaking the traditional marketing and Covid-19 is acting as a catalyst in it.
For the retailers who had already been using the omnichannel modal can be seen easily adapting with the evolving technology. Let’s see how technology has ensured an Omnichannel experience while garnering profit.
Ecommerce is changing
The browsing and buying behaviors of customers have changed a lot with the advance in technology.
Retailers are also seeing benefits, as technology is helping them make stronger connections with consumers and build their brands faster.
- Home delivery at convenience is the primary reason behind the success of eCommerce sites.
- Easy return policy and same-day delivery are some add on features which are enticing customers more to go for online shopping.
- Technologies like drones and automated vehicles are also expected to launch to overcome the delivering obstacles in the coming future as well.
- Ecommerce giants like Amazon are already looking to pave the way with such technology.
For now, to gain a competitive edge, sites are offering consumers faster deliveries with lower price options.
Easy Payment Process
With technological advancements, payment experiences have notably changed over the last 50 years.
From the introduction of credit cards in 1950 to debit cards in the 1980s and launch of electronic payments have grown popularity.
In the past five years, multiple innovations have emerged optimizing mobile devices and connectivity to make payments simpler and more valuable.
Examples range from digital wallets to automated machine-to-machine payments promoting cashless transactions.
The business owners having multiple sales channels, including both brick-and-mortar and e-stores, will need to sync their inventory, promotions, online and offline transactions to ensure omnichannel experience.
Thus, eCommerce and POS incorporation will be an ideal solution both during and after the pandemic.
Omnichannel Experience
Retailers are trying to give customers similar experiences both online and in-store.
Omnichannel is the answer for every platform that users will access, and it integrates these multiple channels so effectively that a consumer’s interaction is consistent across websites, social media accounts, apps, and in-store.
To give a better experience to the customer, commercialize your channels and communications more seamlessly and effectively.
The better the experience, the more probably customers are going to convert and keep coming back to your stores, website, and social channels in the future.
As “Digital Darwinism,” a world in which the most compliant companies will survive.
Top Technology Trends to enhance Omnichannel experience
To strike into the digital world or wish to amplify your omnichannel strategy further, here are some tech-driven tools, and approaches that will help you in the process:
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
AI is the new future business innovation providing a personalized experience to the customers.
This technology seamlessly incorporates your online and offline business and is recommended if you are thinking of scaling up your business.
The technology will also help you inspect data and preferences of customers such as brands they like, the style they follow, the price range they prefer, etc.
Email tools prefer machine learning to create engagement mails and content to deliver effective marketing campaigns.
Chatbots are great opportunities to improve customer engagement and also reduces the cost of customer service.
VR and Augmented Reality
Due to COVID-19, customers are unable to try the product physically, but augmented technology has made it possible by allowing them to interact with products online.
Lacoste and Uniqlo have virtual showrooms and fitting rooms to allow customers to try products in virtually.
IKEA and Amazon are using ARKit-based apps to help customers visualize what new furniture will look like by moving their smartphone cameras around the room in real-time.
Voice search
Alexa, Bixby, Siri, Microsoft Cortana, and Google Home Assistant are examples of how AI has dynamically changed. Voice-assisted technologies help make sales through voice recognition in retail and e-commerce.
It is called “voice commerce”. Customers instead of typing in a search query, use voice commands to find products or any required information.
Conclusion
With the change in time and current scenario technology and retail, the strategy is evolving.
It is considered that even after pandemic customer-oriented technologies will take over with more new tools and digital solutions to ensure the omnichannel experience while remaining profitable.
