As the internet has grown, traditional shops that you walk into have had a hard time because more and more people can order things online instead of going to a store. The answer to how shops will work in the future? As Matt Alderton writes in his article "How Technology and Big Data in Retail Are Shaping Store Designs of the Future," don't make places for people to buy the things they need. Instead, make spaces for them to experience the things they want. Alderton looks at how stores are being built to be more forward-thinking in order to attract customers. He finds that the same technological revolution that could make stores obsolete could also be the key to saving them.
It used to be fun to go shopping
The goal was to make sales, but the way it did that was through class and showmanship. It was a form of social trading where people traded more than just money.When it came to the first department stores, this was most clear because their designers made them into locations. Harrods in London has a motto that says "All Things for All People, Everywhere," which is Latin for "All Things for All People." It was built in 1849 and has seven floors with more than 330 departments and more than 1 million square feet of space. In 1898, the store opened one of the first escalators in the world. In 1902, it opened a famous food hall, and until the 1970s, it sold unusual pets like lion cubs.Jan Whitaker, who wrote Service and Style: How the American Department Store Fashioned the Middle Class, says that department stores "became core institutions" that made people feel good about life just by being there. "Through shows, demonstrations, lectures, and entertainment, the stores defined a way of life while providing the necessities and extras that it required."Stores today aren't castles; they're old-fashioned. These days, shopping in stores doesn't feel like a treat because of "point, click, and ship." It feels like a pain.Stores with walls and floors are still around, though. A.T. Kearney did a study in 2014 that found 90% of users would rather buy things in person. In addition, even though e-commerce has grown a lot, 94% of all retail sales are still made in physical shops.
Brands aren't trying to compete with technology; instead, they're using it to make in-store shopping more important.
There could be a new golden age of shopping if store designers and technologists work together well.You can shop for big data in retail. Technology will be used in at least two ways in future stores. George Shaw, vice president of research and development at RetailNext, a San Francisco-based company that helps retailers collect and analyze in-store customer data, says that the first will be in the infrastructure of stores and will not be seen by customers but will be very useful to retailers."Everything is becoming more data-driven, and retail is no different," says Shaw. He says that in the future, retailers will use devices in their stores to gather a lot of big data and information about their customers. For example, some of the sensors that can already be used in shops areRadio waves with low energy are sent out by beacons. These waves are called Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) messages. When nearby mobile devices receive them, they can record their location and start an activity based on that position. For example, stores can text customers a coupon for a product when they walk by it or direct them to a certain product or area. They can use the same hardware to keep track of buyers and see how they move through the store and which sections or displays they look at.
Video cameras: More and more, stores are using video to learn more about their customers. Video analytics and so-called "computer vision" can help stores figure out the age, gender, and race of customers, as well as how many there are, how long lines are at registers and service booths, and how long customers stay at displays and endcaps.RFID tags: When stores put radio frequency identification (RFID) tags on items, they can see their stock better, which can help with omnichannel buying, which lets customers buy things online and pick them up in the store. With beacons and RFID, stores could connect tagged items to the customers who pick them up, giving them information about what people are buying.
Visual light communications (VLC).
LED lights that have VLC send out a specific pattern of lights that smartphones can pick up with their cameras. This gives stores an option to beacons that can be used anywhere.
Guest Wi-Fi: When customers connect to in-store Wi-Fi, retailers can see how many Wi-Fi devices are in the store, what people are doing, and how long they stay. They can also see if there are repeat visitors to a store or a group of stores, as well as when and how often those repeat visitors come back.A design principal at Callison, a Seattle-based architecture company that specializes in retail design, Alex Shapleigh, says that Cutting-Edge Commerce Technology will also be customer-facing."New retail experiences are being shaped by integrated technologies that change the space and how a person might shop or do business," says Shapleigh. Some examples arePoint of sale on the go. Because mobile payments and point-of-sale (POS) systems are becoming more popular, more stores will get rid of standard sales counters and put salespeople with tablets all over the store.The virtual world. Virtual reality (VR) headsets can be used by stores to give tours of virtual showrooms or do realistic product demos in virtual worlds. Augmented reality can also be used by retailers to add computer-generated features on top of real-life images. For example, shoppers can see their own reflections in fitting room mirrors, which lets them virtually try on clothes.Touch screens. Smart kiosks and touch screens can be used by stores to make the sales area more dynamic. This way, customers can learn more about a product or brand by using their eyes and hands.
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