High Street Retailers Urged To Embrace Technology To Win Consumers Hearts

Many high street retailers see e-commerce as a serious threat to their businesses. With the rise of online retail seeing no signs of slowing down, and for the sake of retaining consumers’ interest, retailers need to embrace technology to provide better value and satisfactory customer service, results from a survey conducted by deal-of-the-day website Groupon suggest.

I came across the survey in a recent Marketing Week article, which revealed that consumers are increasingly willing to see technology innovations such as product holograms, augmented reality, and touch screens in-store. According to around a third of the 2,000 consumers who took part in the poll, such innovations would enrich their shopping journey and make them more willing to purchase a product.

Personalisation is also an aspect of the shopping experience that Britons crave for, with 50% of respondents saying it would enhance their shopping experience. Deploying mobile apps and mobile technology would also work for consumer retention, since they incorporate tools such as geolocation that would ensure personal and targeted communication with consumers. Retailers’ use of mobile tools would also make customers more loyal and more willing to visit a particular store, since this will allow them to connect with brands at an emotional level.

Richard Jones, VP of national accounts at Groupon UK and Ireland, said that given consumers’ willingness to emotionally connect with brands, talk to specialists, and see and touch items, it’s still imperative for retailers to have brick and mortar stores and expert personnel. With this in mind, it’s important that physical stores continue to exist, despite the popularity of e-commerce and self-service technology.