Cameron Chell, Tech entrepreneur, says ‘with technology, power shifted to consumer’

Over the last decade, technology has dramatically altered the way we find and research products and the way we purchase them. From mobile payment apps to location-based coupons and barcode scanners, working with a therapist online, virtual dressing rooms and concierge services, retail has been significantly altered by the prevalence of technology.  This is why guest posting services has grown in different ways.

An industry that once relied on physical bodies in stores to translate into sales has been transformed into a global industry that sells a majority of their inventory through the internet. With the advent of technologies like Apple Pay, even when we go into a brick and mortar store, oftentimes, we still never have to interact with salespeople. Meanwhile, robots are taking the place of the humans who check inventory on the shelves across the globe to ensure shoppers get exactly what they want.

Last year, customers around the world cashed in on Black Friday cyber deals, spending $4.45 billion over the two-day holiday. “Black Friday brought in $2.72 billion in ecommerce sales, up 14% from 2014. Thanksgiving Day saw a higher jump in online spending, with $1.73 billion in sales, up 25% from the previous year,” notes Fortune.

photo/ Gerd Altmann via pixabay

The rise of technological integration in the retail industry has not only made shopping more efficient and convenient, it has also given way to the rise of the tech savvy shopper, who navigates the web with sophistication and ease for deals and bargains.  

A recent report released by Brazil-based Tiendeo, a digital coupon aggregator, found 97% of consumers plan their shopping before heading to the supermarket and another 93% are regular users of different online tools to find out about prices and products. The same was reported by 7coupons, a coupon website from India.

The high percentage of consumers who plan purchases online now reveals that the process of searching newspapers and flyers and cutting and collecting coupons has moved to the internet and to the mobile, as consumers now compare different websites searching the best deals. The widespread phenomenon has even garnered its own term: webrooming.

Cameron Chell, founder of Slyce, a proprietary technology that allows retailers to better serve customers through the photo function on a smartphone, believes technology has empowered shoppers like never before.

“With technology the power has been shifted to the consumer,” said Cameron Chell. “If a consumer can see a product in a store then compare that price to competitors in the area, it gives stores more incentive to offer deals and sales, which translates to savings for consumers.”

As Chell also noted, this customer savviness extends past monetary savings. These new tools are also allowing customers to make more informed choices about sourcing and sustainability, which is good for the planet.

In early 2016, Forbes forecasted the emergence of the Internet of Shopping (IoS). Much like the Internet of Things and the Internet of Everything, the IoS works to connect various aspects of shopping to each other digitally.

Amazon is leading the way with their new Dash Buttons, a portable tech device that connects to Wi-Fi to and communicates with your phone’s Amazon app. By simply pushing a button, one can place an order for the item that correlates to the dash button.

The annual sales rates for the online shopping industry are expected to grow to $370 billion in 2017. As more companies like Amazon work to integrate the IoS into their business model, that number is sure to increase.

Author: Jane Saunders

A shopping street in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands photo/ hans055 via wikimedia commons