Kiosks & Beacons to boost footfall at Retail Stores

Though online shopping is eventually rising, retail market is also at equal preference. Today, crowd has turned towards online shopping for convenience, ample of options and to save time, but people still prefer to buy products by physically touching them to assure quality and pay off.

Prevailing Shopping Trends

Current scenario reflects that shopping trends are still favoring the retail shops, despite the rise of online shopping. About 85% of customers prefer to buy from retail stores rather than online shopping but e-commerce is quickly grabbing the market share. Looking to the rage of online shopping, it is assumed that in coming years, it is going to increase from 9% to 27%.

Bridging the Gap with Kiosks & Beacons

The main thing that is favoring the retail stores is the sense of physical touch and the cost of logistics, else more people prefer to buy everything online. It is a big challenge for the retail stores to cope up with this loss of market share. One of the way to gain back and retain their lost ground is to make wise use of the technology in order to attract customers. Kiosks and NFC does this a great way to take customers to the store in the mall with the help of the relevant smartphone applications.

This effort should not remain just till window shopping rather it should be converted to sales.That is where Beacon comes in. Once the customer is in the vicinity of a store having a beacon, it sends a notification on customer’s mobile regarding the discount and other sale offers available. This sale thing is simply psychological, it triggers the customer to enter the store and try the product.

Beacons provide context to the surrounding environment and the context can be used while determining the intent or interest of the customers and then planning marketing strategies. All in all, this how technology can help the retail stores to gain more customers. Through integration of these technologies, businesses are only going to enhance their brands in the market and will reap rewards through it as it makes customers feel good by saving time and it improves customer patronage at the same time.

Integrating New Techniques

Following are few ways which retails stores need to adapt to increase the sales and customer services:

An interactive Kiosk:

An interactive kiosk is a computer featured with specialized hardware and software which allows access to information and applications integrated in it. Information or applications for shopping centre information, way to each store in shopping centres, various offers on stores, etc. can be integrated into Kiosk to provide product information to the customers to ease their shopping. Kiosk machine will ease the shopping and attract the users to get amazing information and offers on the stores in the shopping centre or mall.

NFC:   

NFC (Non Field Communication) technology is a set of communication protocols that enables electronic devices to communicate by bringing them in a range of 4 cm of each other. NFC can be used in the Kiosk machine to help customer to locate the store on their mobile device by just scanning the QR code and get the path to the store in the shopping centres. It is the most easy way to remember the directions to the store.

Beacon:

A beacon is a conspicuous device which attracts attention to a specific location. Beacons can also be combined with indicators to provide necessary information. Rather than spending on advertising the offers, retail store can use beacon technology in stores. Through this, amazing offers will prompt on the customer device when he/she is around the store. The offers can be customized as per requirements. Kiosk machine can also be integrated accordingly that when the customer is viewing his wish details all the offers on various stores prompt on the screen.

Final Verdict

Other techniques like interactive automated fitting rooms, digital and interactive storefront windows, virtual dressing rooms, smart shelves, etc. can be integrated with ordinary retail stores to attract people more towards the traditional shopping. With the blend of such technologies in shopping centres, it can cater next generation smart customers. Many shopping centres and brick and mortar stores worldwide have already started adapting such fascinating techniques.