Increased focus on a personalized in-store customer experience Customers can no longer be treated as a segment by retailers. Retailers now need to provide personalization that singles out the individual shopper. This year, we will also continue to see more retailers adopting personalized technology solutions such as mobile, which will allow for an interactive consumer experience. Through the emergence of new mobile POS technology, retailers can now offer customers more choices to accommodate their shopping habits by letting them begin, modify or complete transactions anywhere in the store.

With the rise of mobile POS systems and the increasing integration of unified commerce, retailers can ensure that a seamless view of the customer touchpoint is available from web to in-store to mobile. For example, if a customer researched a TV on the web, when he gets to the store unified commerce can help start a conversation based on his profile and analytics, to complete the journey.

Mobile technologies are enabling retailers to obtain data that is integrated into the retail ecosystem, allowing marketers and customer service teams to be in contact with the shopper at every point along their purchasing journey. With the level of data being pulled from these mobile technologies, retailers and consumers can expect more informed customer service, quicker payment processes, greater access to coupons and special offers, as well as more real-time personalization.

At the end of the day, the more data retailers can provide to customers, the better. Customers know the technology retailers have available to them, and in return, expect a better experience because of it.

The future of the in-store experience is exciting, especially as biometrics and artificial intelligence (AI) begin their start of guiding in-store experiences. We’ll be seeing biometrics as a source of customer recognition and AI as a key factor of influence and customer service in the future, continuing to evolve personalized in-store experiences.

Cloud adoption will increase and outdated legacy systems will be substituted, creating new opportunities for future proofing

Legacy technology is becoming a roadblock for larger retailers when updating their current systems. As a result, retailers and consumers are continuing to look for solutions that are easily upgradable, have a future-proof design and continually meet their needs as technology requirements advance. This year, we will likely to see an increase in the number of small and medium-sized retailers adopting cloud-based solutions. Since these businesses are often nimbler and aren’t typically tied down to large, complicated legacy systems they are in a great position to switch to unified commerce technologies, further validating that cloud adoption is increasing.

The biggest advantage to retailers of hosting a POS solution in the cloud is the ability to easily, and quickly update software across stores at the same time. Leveraging the cloud makes it easier for consumers and retailers to access the latest technology and keep their systems updated. POS systems are being integrated through the cloud not only with peripherals but also backend solutions and payment card solutions. The expansion of POS systems to the cloud will reshape the POS technology sector entirely – 1,000 stores can have upgrades done in the cloud in a matter of 10 minutes. It’s pretty powerful stuff.

We expect that these three POS trends are ones that will be some of the leading themes in the retail narrative this year. As we look ahead to what’s in store for the retail industry, these POS trends will continue to be a huge focus for both retailers and consumers alike. Digital transformation in retail can’t happen overnight; it’s important to remember that it’s an evolution, not a revolution. https://www.ceymplon.lk/service/24-7-supports/application-support