Global study highlights technology solutions for a more successful retail customer experience.
Today (January 18, 2022) at the National Retail Federation (NRF) 2022 annual trade show in New York City, Intel and IHL Group unveiled a new global consumer retail study that speaks to the changing retail experience while highlighting technologies that can help improve a dynamic retail marketplace.
“The last two years have been challenging for the retail environment,” said Alec Gefrides, vice president of the Internet of Things Group and general manager of Retail, Banking, Hospitality and Education at Intel, speaking at a virtual NRF panel discussion on the study, “The New Normal Consumer: Did the Pandemic Change Consumer Behavior?” “Yet Intel is helping retailers meet these challenges. This year we are presenting ideas to improve the retail experience both in stores and in product fulfillment through technology.”
IHL Group, in partnership with Intel, conducted the study by surveying consumers in 21 of the world’s largest retail economies about their outlook on future spending. The study found factors contributing to issues for retail: the pandemic, lack of product availability, labor shortages, lines in stores, and lack of return options. More than 50% of shopping now happens online, a trend likely to continue as shoppers younger than 30, who practice a higher percentage of online shopping, become a bigger part of the market.
“Expectations for retailers are higher than ever,” said Greg Buzek, president of IHL Group. “They must come to grips with the fact that consumer expectations are not going down, but are being pushed up.”
Intel has developed Smart Stores technology solutions to enrich the retail shopping experience and digitally transform stores to become powerful media channels and fulfillment centers. Shelves, endcaps, signs, kiosks, cooler screens, shelf labels and other retail tools can be digitized and become the heart of retail media networks that make shopping personal, desirable, informative and satisfying – and, in turn, profitable for retailers and brands.
An example of the Smart Store concept is the “Store as a Medium” model, which uses the best of technology and data to create more personalized and contextual interactions in all store areas. Store as a Medium has been developed by Intel in conjunction with VSBLTY Groupe Technologies, a leading software provider of retail analytics technology, and WPP, the world’s largest advertising and public relations firm. Intel’s OpenVINO™ platform is among the tools they’re using to create an environment in which physical store surfaces become digital places where shoppers engage with brand communications, services and exciting new experiences. It allows the Internet of Things to meet programmatic advertising, machine learning and big data analytics – and become something personal and powerful for retailers, brands and consumers.
Full Report: The New Normal Consumer: Did the Pandemic Change Consumer Behavior?
