HIGH POINT — Ongoing advancements mean that retailers will continue to invest in new technology for software and mobile apps as well as the developing fields of augmented reality, virtual reality and artificial intelligence (AI).
Analysts at Gartner, an independent research firm, predict that retail spending on technology alone next year will grow 3.6% due to customer expectations.
Gartner named software as one of the fastest growing technology expenditures in the retail industry, with platforms for analytics, digital marketing, mobile applications, e-commerce and AI increasingly becoming a priority.
Furniture Today spoke with several technology companies in the home furnishings industry to get their views about how advancements in technology are changing the ways that retailers in our industry interact with consumers.
Artur Arutyunov
marketing director, Augmentes
Technology continues to transform the retail space in many ways. Most importantly, technology has created a number of customer contact channels that extend well beyond the traditional brick-and-mortar stores and printed material.
While the retail websites may anchor their online presence, the majority of customers now utilize their mobile phones and devices to access retail. The challenge for retailers is to provide a seamless experience for consumers across the many online channels that include website, mobile application and numerous social media areas.
Having an omnichannel platform offers retailers the ability to provide a single dashboard that allows oversight of the different channels while the backbone coordinates the integration of those channels. This functionality makes managing product catalog, inventory, promotions, marketing and personalized experiences easier for retailers. At the same time, customers are looking for more advanced shopping features and experiences. As an example, 74% of consumers now expect retailers to offer some type of AR experience, according to Digital Bridge.
Toby Wang
vice president, Coohom
Adding augmented reality and virtual reality technology can help retailers present more product combinations using virtual showrooms. Because of the space limitations, normally brick-and-mortar stores don’t have enough space to present all the SKUs that are available. New technology is now allowing retailers to create unlimited virtual showrooms with high-resolution images that can be rendered in minutes and placed in virtual rooms.
Aleksandar Atanasov
marketing manager, Cylindo
One technology shaping the furniture industry is 3D product visualization that supports product personalization. Retailers need to visualize their products in all options and an unlimited number of product variations in their efforts to deploy endless aisle strategies and sell furniture items to customers that are out-of-stock in-store and not kept in local inventory.
In a world full of visuals and rich content, having a sound product visualization strategy is a must because this is the starting point for the implementation of all other technologies. In addition, customers don’t want surprises. Having high-quality but also consistent product imagery is the backbone for delivering seamless and unified customer experiences. Smart visualization technologies support omnichannel marketing efforts by automating product image delivery across channels and media and using the same visuals in the marketing effort.
Beck Besecker
founder and CEO, Marxent
Retailers are now trying to meet the customer however and wherever they shop. AR and VR tools are letting shoppers try 3D products in their home before purchase, increasing post-sale satisfaction and driving down returns.
Design services have long been time-consuming and expensive. New technology, like 3D room planners, enables sales reps and the customers themselves to take control of the design phase without the need for special training or skills.
Moreover, furniture has long been considered an item that customers must see in person before they buy. They have to touch it and sit in it. New tech like AR/VR visualization is letting shoppers try 3D products in their homes instead, broadening the types of products that people regularly buy online.
Richard Sexton
chief product officer, MicroD
Ken Widger
marketing program manager, MicroD
The interaction between retailers and consumers has always evolved. But the past 10 years of this progression have been unprecedented due to technology advancements. The evolution for retailers started with just having a showroom. As time and technology evolved, retailers added a website or, in reality, a type of digital showroom. Then, they needed digital marketing to compete for online visibility on the website and the physical showroom. And now, retailers need unique ways to differentiate themselves in a very crowded online space.
The consumer evolution is equally robust. Consumers went from visiting a local store to searching online for local stores, to browsing a website, and now they are demanding online experiences. These include viewing a product in a 360-degree format, 3D experiences, being able to interactively finding a product and then personalizing it with a selected fabric or pattern, and also using a room planner that allows them to design their rooms virtually.
Because of such a crowded space and the importance of the customer experience, home furnishings customers now expect a very personal online shopping experience. Retailers that are slow to embrace the latest version of online evolution and fail to meet the new consumer expectations will be left behind. Retailers that are embracing this evolution and investing in the proper technology will pull ahead from the pack.
Richard Hillier
vice president of business development, Picture This Today 3D Inc.
Technology is dramatically changing the way all retailers interact with their customers. More than 85% of consumers start their home furnishings shopping with online research, more than any other product, even shoes. There are many reasons for this, but for retailers, the end result is that they must compete effectively in the online space because most shoppers are there, and they expect retailers to be there as well. Consumer engagement is king, and time on site is critical to keep the engaged consumer from leaving their website and visiting a competitor.
Data-driven technology has led to highly targeted and highly effective marketing campaigns. Data has become a valuable commodity to the retailer, and much of their growth depends on their ability to gather and use the right data.
Technology has allowed for highly efficient e-commerce in terms of placing, tracking and delivering orders. This streamlining of logistics has helped to minimize one of the biggest disadvantages to shopping online.
With 3D visualization technology, retailer/customer interaction becomes more of a visual experience vs. a descriptive experience. Retailers can better engage with customers because they can present their products in all available fabric and finish options, and display those products in a floor plan replica of the customers own home. Research has shown that people remember 10% of what they hear, 20% of what they read and 80% of what they see and do.
Laura Khoury
CEO, Shoptelligence
In the furniture industry, more than 80% of purchases start online and then finish in store. Retailers need to recognize that shoppers use retailer websites to narrow down the number of retailers to visit, transforming the showroom from a discovery and browsing destination to a transactional destination.
Forward-thinking retailers are investing heavily in their digital presence to show inspiration and their full assortment, and then pulling that into the store through kiosks and clienteling, and finally continuing to engage the customer after the purchase to keep the relationship going. All of this is driven by a consistent experience and brand.
As AI becomes an accessible mainstream technology, we can expect to see a lot of services traditionally reserved for high-end shoppers, such as personalized styling support, introduced to the masses online and in-store. Retailers that focus on providing this level of service will ultimately win.
Donnie Surdoval
product manager, Storis
Retailers are dealing with a consumer that is already deep into her path to purchase upon her first in-store engagement. More than 90% of customers begin browsing online and come into the store more educated than ever before.
This means retailers need to create a website experience that is equivalent in importance to their flagship store. Websites need to be rich resources with detailed product information and digital marketing experiences that entice the customer to either convert online or visit the showroom.
Additionally, consumers are first exposed to a brand through the website and digital marketing. Consumers crave a technology-driven experience in-store. They expect access to endless aisle inventory via a digital kiosk or to be checked out on a mobile POS to skip the line. If stores are still held back by traditional limitations, the customer will shop elsewhere.
Soon we will forget that omnichannel even existed because people will view all their cross-channel interactions as one and the same.