According to a new report released last week by Boston-based retail consultant BRP, brick-and-mortar stores are standing up to the seemingly massive shift to online commerce. The key, the report suggests, is in the ease of the shopping and purchasing experience.
According to the report, “SPECIAL REPORT: The State of Store Technology,” the store is still a major part of the customer journey with 79% of consumers indicating they frequently purchase merchandise in a store. With an increased focus on customer engagement and the convergence of physical and digital, the point of sale or commerce platform plays a critical role in shaping the customer shopping experience. The right technology foundation is essential to support the best in-store customer experience.
“Stores remain center stage in the shopping experience, and that experience is an ever-increasing factor in where consumers choose to shop,” said Brian Brunk, principal at BRP Consulting. “Retailers understand the importance of keeping up with customer expectations; in fact, 75% are considering cloud-based platforms as part of their in-store technology plans over the next several years.”
BRP’s “SPECIAL REPORT: The State of Store Technology” is based on findings from the BRP Consumer Study and the “2019 POS/Customer Engagement Survey” and offers insights into the state of retailers’ current store technology and their future plans.
Highlights of the report include:
CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS:
- 96% indicate that ease of checkout and payment are important factors when choosing where to shop
- More than 55% indicate that in-store technologies like self-checkout, product locator, inventory lookup, and endless aisle are important factors when choosing where to shop
- 68% are likely to choose a store offering buy anywhere, ship anywhere services over one that doesn’t
RETAILER PLANS:
- 53% are focused on adding additional capabilities to existing POS and 48% plan to replace their POS within three years to improve the checkout experience
- As retailers make decisions on new POS systems, 75% indicate they plan to have cloud-based solutions within three years
- 94% plan to address holistic customer engagement with the implementation of a single unified commerce platform
