It is certainly true that technology has altered nearly every industry seen today in some way over the last twenty years. Technology is now incorporated in more ways than ever before today in all kinds of fields, but none may have seen this happen more to them recently than in the area of retail. The way people shop has been forever altered by what technology can do today and more and more the retail industry is looking for new and innovative ways to seize on the technology use by the consumer today to lure them into shopping more.
Internet Shopping Changed the World
The whole notion of shopping has completely changed thanks to what the Internet has available today. The frequent use of the Internet, along with the advent of more mobile devices for people to use everywhere that they go has turned more people into Internet shoppers, with that number growing all of the time. Many malls all around the world have seen significant decline in foot traffic and the number of people that actually shop in the stores since more people now take to using their computers and smartphones for their retail experience. People would much rather shop when it is convenient for them and find just the item they are looking for and have it delivered right to their doorstep than to have to physically shop in a variety of stores over several hours.
Technology Has Created the More Informed Shopper
Technology has changed the nature of the shopper today, thus changing the way retailers need to approach shopping. Because of technology and the Internet, shoppers have much more information regarding the items they are looking for before they even step into a store. In the past where there was a stronger reliance on a salesperson for information, today the salesperson plays a much different role. Retailers needed to create a more informed salesforce that keeps up to date on all of the latest models and what is available in order to interact well with the informed consumer. This means creating a different level of approach to retail where the business must do more research and have a greater understanding of what the consumer is looking for to tailor the items in the store to fit not just local needs but global needs as well.
As the world continues to evolve and technology continues to change the shopping experience, retailers will have to learn to adapt more to the changing environment if brick and mortar stores are going to continue to thrive. This means being more in tune with the latest technology available to incorporate it into the shopping experience in order to cater to the potential shopper more. The easier retailers can make the shopping experience, the more likely the shoppers will be to keep coming back. This will cause more businesses all of the time to incorporate more of the use of the Internet and mobile devices into the overall shopping experience.