THE PERTH SHOPPER EXPERIENCE BEGINS WITH TOUCH

12 Dec THE PERTH SHOPPER EXPERIENCE BEGINS WITH TOUCH

It Begins with Touch!

As we head for the new year our Perth shops are abuzz. What retail downturn I hear you ask? Certainly the retail discounting helps, and the every present need to fulfil the festive shopping list.

All that aside, just how are ‘bricks & mortar’ retail coping and how is technology helping?

Touchscreens are arguably one part of the answer. Certainly with the youth market, anything that you touch is golden.

This article by Digital Signage today explores if touchscreens can hold back the retail apocalypse. Certainly, the evidence in that touchscreens are getting 60% more engagement than QR codes on phones. As they point out;

‘Brands and merchants are sharing in-store touchscreen technology for a self-directed experience to increase sales, capture data, balance inventories, develop products and reduce returned merchandise as shoppers are better able to decide on the correct product choice.’

There are a lot of advantages to retailers in that argument:

• increase sales – absolutely a key area that touchscreens allow shoppers to browse, show different colour options, check size availability – all before going to the rail;
• capture data – any retailer worth their salt has a customer loyalty, points based or referral system in place to encourage repeat purchases and expand their customer base;
• balance inventories – stock management via technology – a handy labour saving device;
• develop products – algorithms can assess which products are receiving the most interest. This level of  buyer behaviour can be used to manage stock availability and drive trends for the future;
• reduce returned merchandise – shoppers use technology to ‘try before they buy’ to get the desired result.

Facial Technology

Imagine this…

You are walking up to the entry of a shop or a library or a train station, and a screen in front of you stops playing a generic video advertising a product, and features a product that you are genuinely interest in. It seems to have intuitively recognised you … as a female, aged around 40 and with a keen interest in active gear from Nike. How? What? Why?

Do not be shocked. Digital signage can programme facial recognition technology to determine the characteristics of a viewer using a clever sequence of metrics.

Our prediction, by 2022 this will be a common feature in most shops, airports and other venues!

Responsive Content

Along the same lines as facial recognition is responsive content. Let the technology do the hard work and determine touchscreen content based on information feeds for weather, news, traffic, time of the day etc.

Digital touchscreens and digital displays automatically change the content they show based on external triggers, like:

• A super hot day (e.g. increased emphasis on the touchscreen content and advertising for cold drinks or  icecream)
• Traffic (e.g. morning rush-hour or alternative routes are displayed to viewers as a value add service on the touchscreen)
• Time of day (e.g. the interactive touchscreen will promote lunch and refreshment options at midday to entice users to neighbouring cafes. Here is a great opportunity for the touchscreen return on investment to be bolstered by 3rd party promotions).

If you’re ready for any of these exciting interactive digital signage innovations, give one of our team a call. We’re excited for the 2020 continuing evolution of touchscreens in retail and are here to help. Call today on + 61 8 9274 5151 or email admin@yapdigital.com.au and ask for Tim.