The year is 2018, and technology is becoming more and more important in the everyday life of the Danes. Words such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality and virtual reality may seem scary – but the technologies are about more than robots’ takeover of the world.
You cannot avoid the fact that online shopping is becoming more and more popular, which can challenge the traditional, physical stores. How is it possible for them to compete with web shops that have an endless amount of information of their customers’ buying habits and preferences? How can you lure the consumers to the stores when convenience shopping has become an integral part of the Danes’ everyday life?
Underneath, 3 different technologies will be introduced, showing how to digitalize the traditional purchase experience and get a technological advantage on the market.
Artificial intelligence is, put simply, about using data to make machines intelligent. There are countless of opportunities with artificial intelligence, but for physical stores it can especially be used to understand the customers’ buyer behavior and patterns by tracking their purchases and preferences. It also gives stores the possibility of suggesting relevant product or discounts adapted to each customer based on the data.
One of the most well-executed examples on the use of artificial intelligence in physical stores is the American electronics company Amazon’s new venture: Amazon Go. The Amazon Go concept was launched to the public earlier this year, in which AI gives the consumers the opportunity to shop with their phones in newly set up, physical stores.
The Amazon Go stores are equipped with several cameras and weight sensors on the shelves, which are able to register whenever a product leaves the shelf. The product is thereafter added to the virtual shopping cart through the Amazon Go app, in which the customer’s Amazon account is connected.
The result is an exceptional purchase experience, in which the consumers can shop without having to interact with cashiers, cash registers or payment card terminals. Click the video below if you want to see how the consumers’ purchase experience is.
See how the Amazon Go concept works when put into practice here.
Augmented reality is gained ground in the world of retail. In augmented reality the real world is overlaid with computer generated picture either in the form of a picture or video. AR can help to give the customers a more personal purchase experience and give physical space of the store a different expression.
Last year, the Swedish furniture giant IKEA introduced an app that gave the customers the opportunity to, through AR technology, design their own home by testing the IKEA furniture.
The app gives the consumer the possibility of scanning the physical space and thereafter choose between 2.000 pieces of furniture that may fit in. That way IKEA provides the consumer a more personal experience and a unique customer service, in which the consumers have the opportunity to comfortably design their own home.
View IKEA’s video here to gain an insight in possibilities AR technology gives.
Lastly, virtual reality allows you to create an interactive computer generated experience, which the consumer can immerse themselves in.
The Swiss jewelry brand Swarovski has created a virtual world through its app, in which the consumer can explore the collection of crystal decorations for home décor. By connecting the phone to a virtual reality head set, the customer has the possibility of exploring a virtual home filled with the decorations, read more about the story of each decoration, read the descriptions, see the prices and pay – all of which can be done without leaving the virtual world.
Click here to see the virtual world Swarovski has created for its customers.