Retail Technology Strategies to Win in 2023

New year, new technology. 2023 is here and retail technology holds the key to a successful year in the retail industry. Retail technology can put retailers’ stress at ease, especially with ongoing labor shortages. In this technology era we live in, customer expectations are high, making the strategy more important than ever.

Automating customer returns 

Customer buying habits are changing, especially with a lot of the shopping being done online, but returned in-store. “41% of customers have adopted a new habit of over-buying at the point of purchase with the intention of returning some products”. Customers are walking in and out, making purchases, returning, and exchanging. Automating the process can help. Automated returns can lead to shorter lines and help with overall customer satisfaction. Meeting your customers where they want to be met brings convenience, especially with 82% of customers expecting a contactless experience. Automating returns not only benefits customers, but also frees up staff, allowing them to attend to tasks where their presence is needed.

Combat labor shortages with self-service 

The new year has kicked off, and retailers are running into labor shortages being at an all-time high, retail and restaurant servers are in high demand. The solution to these shortages is self-service.” Enhancing the customer experience, increasing sales, and the well-being of employees are all correlated, and retail technology can help with it all.

Retail technology like self-service options offer everything from self-checkout, returns, pickups, and drop-offs to product discovery, price checking, and more! With all the emerging tech trends, customers expectations are increasing and it is affecting the way they are shopping. Offering self-service not only helps with labor shortages but also keeps retailers up to date on today’s retail trends making customers happy, and employees less stressed—a win for everyone.

Take over fitting rooms with retail technology 

Delivering a seamless experience should be as important in the fitting room as it is everywhere else in the store. Fitting room kiosks are a solution to reach shoppers at the point of decision, where they are trying on items and contemplating what is going to make it to checkout and what is not. Fitting room kiosks allow shoppers to browse and request sizes and styles inside the fitting room just by scanning the item they’re trying on. Outside the fitting room, an associate will get notified to retrieve the item for the customer and bring it to their fitting room. This not only enhances the fitting room experience, but empowers retail associates to better serve and connect with customers. 

Create customer loyalty 

Customer loyalty is the secret weapon to keeping customers connected and engaged with a retail store. U.S consumers belong to an average of 16 loyalty programs because they work! Loyalty programs help bring retailers loyalty and retention. Having the right retail technology to go with the loyalty program can enhance customer engagement and boost loyalty sign-ups in-location. Bringing a loyalty program to life with a loyalty kiosk can encourage loyalty sign ups as customers are browsing the store. 

Modern consumers appreciate simplicity and ease of use. If a process is too complicated, the consumer is likely to lose interest, which is what would keep a customer from joining a loyalty program. Having a loyalty kiosk in location creates that simplicity, catching the eyes of customers—an almost guaranteed sign-up.

Aila’s Interactive Kiosk for retail technology

When it comes to strategizing for your retail store, get ahead of the challenge and introduce retail technology into your stores. Aila’s Interactive Kiosk offers multiple solutions to challenges like labor shortages, reducing long lines, and increasing customer satisfaction creating an overall modernized in-store experience keeping up with all the retail tech trends. Aila is the leading provider of enterprise technology solutions for retailers. 

For more information, contact us.