The customer of a retail is no longer the same as a few years ago. It has evolved at the same time as its sources of information have, until it has become a 4.0 consumer : it is informed through the internet , social networks, and its network of contacts, both from the closest (friends and family) and those on the internet (contacts from social networks or influencers).
Therefore, it is essential to know your tastes and needs to provide what you need and improve your shopping experience, which can be achieved through digital signage .The 7 Vs of “big data” technology – Learn More of This
Thanks to digital signage, retailers can improve the shopping experience of their customers and offer them what they are looking for: greater digitization, personalized attention or instant operations. Recruitment 2.0: innovation in human resources
They also have the opportunity to optimize their marketing campaigns for more impact. Therefore, knowing the news in digital signage and smart advertising is crucial to be able to take care of the 4.0 consumer and be able to influence their purchase decisions.
Smart advertising to influence the purchase decision
Advertising uses all the technological means at its disposal to collect data on consumer behavior. Then, depending on the information collected, you can recommend some products or others. CDO: the strategic vision that data management needs
The facial recognition systems , for example, allow meet various user details, such as gender or age group. From this data, you can show an advertising campaign or another , through digital signage. Thus, your purchase decision is more likely to be influenced than with a generic advertising campaign. Tips for implementing an effective customer scorecard
Another element that can provide information on the behavior of a 4.0 consumer are RFID tags , which store information about the product to which they are associated, as well as data related to its production and its traceability.
These labels allow you to have a greater control of the stock of available products, and to know exactly how many units have been sold and how many are left. All this makes it possible to optimize stock management and avoid availability gaps, as well as to know the products that have the highest and lowest acceptance among consumers.
The free Wi-Fi that many establishments offer to their customers can also be used to show them advertising about their products or services. To launch this advertising system, called Wi-Fi marketing , all you have to do is deploy a free Wi-Fi network, but with one particularity: it will have to incorporate a platform or a system prepared to offer advertisements , promotions or discounts to connected users. Why is the brand ambassador the most powerful branding resource?
Other elements that allow the sending of advertising messages to mobile devices depending on their location are beacons , small positioning beacons that can be placed at different points in an establishment or in its vicinity. They emit short-range bluetooth signals , which reach a maximum of 200 meters, and interact with mobile devices that are in their radio and have the bluetooth connection activated, and can send them information: from advertising messages to promotions.
Artificial intelligence, a step further in digital signage
All of these tools provide new channels to deliver personalized advertising to consumers, either immediately or by collecting data to show them personalized campaigns later. Thus, these techniques are even more sophisticated with the inclusion of artificial intelligence .
This technology, in any of its forms, makes it possible to control the emission of messages on any screen in an intelligent way and display content based on the type of customer that passes in front of it. The system does not recognize the customer, but it does recognize their main characteristics and uses artificial intelligence to understand what the customer wants and be able to offer it to them.
Through the observation of the client, for example by means of cameras placed in different points of an establishment, it is possible to know what they are looking for, what they buy and what they are interested in. With this data, crossed with other variables , such as the time each customer spends in the store, the time they arrive or their sales history, you can personalize your shopping experience, and offer you what you want at the right time.
Trends in the purchase of the future
In addition to these trends in smart shopping, there is another novelty in digital signage that will change the way customers buy a-commerce or automatic commerce . This new method allows customers who enter a store to see, manipulate and choose the products as before, but with changes in the payment process . In an a-commerce, the payment is made automatically, which avoids the need to queue to pay. For this, retailers that adopt this system have to install solutions that make physical purchases can be paid online, such as readers located at the entrance of the establishment, in which the customer must scan their smartphone.. To formalize the purchase, it is only necessary to take the product in question and take it with you. Payment is made automatically and the receipt is sent by email.
An example of a-commerce is the stores without dependents that Amazon has opened in various parts of the United States. Customers access them, choose the products they want and pay the necessary amount automatically through their client account on the platform, without waiting or having to use physical money. They simply go in, take what they need, and leave.
Another example is in China , the Tao Cafe , the first coffee shop without staff . Your customers scan their cell phone at the entrance, place their order on screens, take what they need and leave. Payment is automatic and the receipt is emailed to them.
Despite not being very widespread yet, a-commerce does not stop evolving. Currently, it is already possible to automate the purchase to do it when necessary without having to access a store, either online or physical. To do this, you need devices programmed to request an item and that are connected to the internet. This is the case of Amazon dash buttons , which are programmed so that, when pressed, a specific item is requested through the platform, which is paid for and sent automatically.
A-commerce is, therefore, a combination of traditional commerce and e-commerce , and one of the trends with the greatest impact on improving the shopping experience for consumers.
All roads lead to the same point: offering the customer what they are looking for , in an increasingly digital environment. Either through smart advertising and digital signage or technology at the point of sale to support the improvement of the shopping experience. In return, companies collect enough data about the customer to analyze their preferences and continually improve what they offer.
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