DIGITAL MEETS BRICK-AND-MORTAR IN NEWEST OFFERING FOR SHOPPERS

26 January 2016

How to seamlessly merge virtual and real worlds to make customer's journey a memorable experience? Hell-bent on finding the answer, the retail industry surprises with new ways of wooing an increasingly demanding consumer. Case in point: Carrefour's smart strip lights that guide shoppers to tailored special offers.

Technology has become a retailer's ally in capturing customer data and offering shoppers more personalized deals. As much as nearly 75 percent of British retailers apply such cutting-edge solutions in a bid to improve security, but also to get a better insight into consumers' behavioral patterns. Trailed by the French retail behemoth, the new tech was designed to track a shopper's movements to then transfer the acquired data to their smartphones. Result? You know where to go in a store (which aisle and shelf) to get what you really want.

Texting promo offers to your clients

Retailers are eager to apply more in-store techs to track shoppers' behavior. For instance, roughly 30 percent of retailers opt for facial recognition techs to be able to track shoppers' movements in a store. Importantly, younger consumers appreciate new solutions as a way to boost their shopping experience. Among novelties is UK's Marks and Spencer's system of promotional text messages that are sent to consumers who can be located in the proximity of the retailer's stores or on their premises. Consumers who use American application Shopkick score extra points once they have walked into one of signed-up stores and scanned goods with their smartphones.

Show me the way to a special offer

Personalized offers are what consumers are really after. There is a growing number of apps on the market, designed to meet this need. Back to Carrefour, the hypermarket's new device requires smartphone-wielding shoppers to download a "Promo C-ou" app which first identifies a consumer's in-store location and then guides them to the right shelf. According to the recent data, the app helps direct clients to the 200 to 300 different items on promotion each week. And it is only the beginning.

Targeted discounts

Surveys show that consumers enjoy loyalty programs as the latter offer certain benefits, such as much-welcomed bargains and discounts. Moreover, firms which get customers' engagement by means of loyalty schemes receive an impressive 65 percent satisfaction rating. Little wonder that stores want to make good use of heaps of consumer data they collect via new techs. Providing shoppers with targeted discounts becomes easier once we tap into consumer data. Some stores go further by enabling their loyalty card holders to select items on which they wish to have special offers.

Sources: www.reuters.com; http://www.computerweekly.com; http://www.omegascoreboard.com