Ecommerce has forever changed the way people purchase goods, but  there is still great value in the traditional brick-and-mortar experience, which often feels more personable. Through omnichannel solutions—integrated strategies that unify all shopping channels, including online platforms, mobile apps, and physical stores—customers can enjoy the best of both worlds: digital convenience and in-person interactions.

This integration of digital and in-person represents the new normal in modern retail. Already, customers expect to seamlessly transition between online shops to physical locations, such as purchasing online and picking up in-store.

Businesses that facilitate such flexibility enjoy a huge competitive advantage over their less-connected counterparts. We will explain this in more detail below, revealing how connected retail plays into the modern customer experience and what it takes to become a connected store. 

What Is Connected Retail?

Connected retail centers around the increasingly interconnected nature of brick-and-mortar retail with digital technologies. This idea, also referred to as a connected store, aims to build a seamless connection that goes both ways: allowing in-person experiences to maintain a distinctly digital element, while online shopping receives the benefits of physical stores.

This fusion of digital and physical retail can take many forms and will look different from one business to the next. The main goal of a connected store is to be able to offer products both online and in stores. It often involves offerings such as in-store pickups, curbside pickups, and in-store returns for purchases initiated online. Using technology throughout the shopping experience also allows for more robust and accurate data collection within physical retail spaces, allowing staff to gain helpful insights into inventory levels, in-store customer behaviors, and more.

The Benefits of Connected Retail

Connected retail draws on the best of eCommerce and in-person strategies to provide nuanced, deeply personalized solutions that appeal to many types of consumers. Done right, this can produce a myriad of benefits, including general improvements in customer service and efficiency. Advantages include:

• Improved inventory management. There are many challenges that play into today’s supply chain, but any solution that can limit friction must be fully embraced. Connected retail can represent a valuable piece of this puzzle, with real-time data providing immediate access to critical stock details across stores and distribution centers.
• Streamlined checkout processes. Today’s demanding consumers have become accustomed to the convenience of online shopping and will quickly grow impatient when checkout lasts more than a few short minutes. Thankfully, connected solutions can expedite these processes both in-store and online creating a more enjoyable and connected retail experience.
• Data-driven decision-making. As the shopping experience includes an increasing number of touchpoints, there are also new opportunities to gather consumer information. This, in turn, can reveal distinct patterns in shopping behaviors and preferences, which can play heavily into forecasting and decision-making. This is especially critical now as many businesses are actively seeking new sources of consumer-generated insights in response to data privacy legislation, which can make it more difficult to gather information strictly online. 

Creating a Connected Store

Connected stores are valuable, but they require strategic planning and thoughtful implementation. End-to-end omnichannel software solutions are essential, as they provide far-reaching, yet connected oversight into the many elements that create a truly connected store. This process typically begins with determining which services will be available and in what capacity. Common offerings include: 

Click & Collect

Also known as buy-online-pickup-in-store (BOPIS), click and collect is a popular solution that gained a lot of traction during the pandemic but remains a customer favorite to this day. This omnichannel strategy begins with online purchases but uses an in-store (or near-store) element for picking up products.

Click and collect software produces a seamless experience for both online and in-person interactions. Organizations equipped with the right solutions can better serve customers by providing notifications when products are ready for pickup, along with on-my-way notifications from the customer’s perspective. Real-time tracking further boosts this process and also creates a wealth of consumer insights. 

Inventory Management

Stock levels have never been easy to track, but omnichannel solutions add new challenges to the mix. With each additional channel comes yet another opportunity for stock levels to suddenly change, and without consistent real-time updates businesses may struggle to ensure that customers have access to the right products at the right time.

Stock management software bridges the gap by providing much-needed access to inventory data. This includes details surrounding:

• Stock receiving
• Stock movement
• Stock counting
• In-store replenishment

These solutions can even provide real-time notifications when stock is low, thereby setting the stage for swift in-store replenishment. Additionally, inventory management systems improve real-time understanding of back-of-house SKUs. As demand fluctuates, strong stock management allows businesses to keep pace. 

In-Store Fulfillment

Sometimes referred to as ship-from-store, in-store fulfillment brings a local element to online purchasing. With this unique solution, customers can complete the ordering process online but have items shipped from their nearest brick-and-mortar locations. This reduces shipping time while still allowing customers to enjoy the advantages of eCommerce.

Meanwhile, businesses benefit from transforming retail locations into a new type of  distribution center, thereby providing far greater flexibility in fulfillment. With this enhanced flexibility, businesses are better positioned to respond to sudden fluctuations in demand. 

Returns Management

Returns are to be expected in today’s omnichannel world, but connected retail can resolve many of the common challenges associated with returns for both online and in-store purchases. Customers receive the advantage of flexibility: they can make returns directly on retailer websites, via third parties, or even directly in the store.

No matter how customers choose to move forward with returns, accurate inventory management can be expected, as advanced software solutions provide access to return data in real-time. Once returns are completed, products can easily be moved to distribution centers or even resold in retail stores. 

Real-Time Data Analytics

From stock receiving to returns, sales floor sensors, and even in-store WiFi access, every step and every channel provides opportunities to produce, collect, analyze, and leverage data. It takes an intelligent  system to make full use of this wealth of information, however. Without the right setup, it can be easy for organizations to get lost in the details.

Connected stores only work their magic when relevant information is properly obtained, combined and made available—without falling into the potential trap of data silos. Enterprise systems provide comprehensive, end-to-end tools that set businesses of all types up for success. The goal? To make advanced data analytics easy to access and understand, so that these insights can lead to better decision-making and forecasting. 

Printed Point-of-Sale and In-Store Digital Signature

One of the most exciting technological advancements to enter the brick-and-mortar environment is in-store digital signage, which helps consumers gain immediate access to important information. Many businesses now provide touchscreen displays, where customers can easily navigate to find available products or learn about promotions.

The connected in-store experience also relies on innovative point-of-sale (POS) solutions, such as optimized printing for receipts, vouchers, or invoices. This approach can also influence how stockroom labels are printed. Across this myriad of applications, the goal is to bridge the divide between digital and tangible displays. 

The Connected Customer Experience

The ultimate goal of the modern connected store is to create connected customers. Customers can be deemed connected when they feel seamlessly linked to the businesses they frequent — with these links developed and maintained through their mobile devices. From there, every stage of the customer journey can be optimized, regardless of when or how that journey occurs: online, in-person, or a blend of the two.

Key goals for improving the connected customer experience include:

• Providing a variety of digital touchpoints, such as social media, marketing emails, mobile apps, and feedback surveys.
• Personalizing each shopper’s journey by leveraging past consumer behavior to predict future preferences.
• Boosting customer engagement by removing bottlenecks and providing plenty of notifications to keep customers in the loop. 

Connected eCommerce: Bridging the Gap

Connected eCommerce is a critical component of connected retail. These concepts hold many similarities, but one important distinction: connected eCommerce involves purchases that occur strictly online. This remains, after all, a preferred solution for a significant subset of consumers. Still, there are many opportunities to build the personable environment of a connected storefront into the eCommerce atmosphere:

• Enhancing the online shopper’s journey. While customers appreciate the convenience of eCommerce, some complain that this experience simply isn’t as immersive or as memorable as in-person retail. Providing access to both is important, but businesses can also build elements of the brick-and-mortar experience into online purchasing, often simply by leveraging data to personalize touchpoints. Augmented reality, for example, represents an exciting opportunity to make online browsing feel more like ‘real-world’ shopping. In this context, augmented reality can overlay virtual elements—such as 3D product models—onto the shopper’s real-world environment using smartphone cameras, allowing consumers to visualize how items would look or function in their own space.
• Integrating the Internet of Things (IoT) into online shopping. While IoT solutions are already heavily used for supply chain and inventory management, they can also personalize the online shopper’s experience by leveraging data to provide offers that are uniquely relevant to different types of customers—such as recommending eco-friendly cleaning supplies to shoppers who frequently purchase sustainable home goods, or suggesting tech accessories to customers who consistently buy electronic gadgets. Meanwhile, new IoT solutions can provide a greater range of shopping opportunities by integrating smart home technology.
• Providing a seamless transition between online and physical retail stores. Whether customers complete purchases entirely online or rely on click and collect, they expect their experiences to inform all types of future interactions. They may shop online one day and within a physical store the next, but both experiences should feel seamless and linked. This means continuity for loyalty programs and discount offers, plus ease of returns in multiple locations. 

The Future of Retail Technology

Retail is undergoing swift changes, and regardless of product quality or customer service, businesses will struggle if they fail to keep up with the fast pace of technological advancement. With the right omnichannel solutions, however, it’s possible to meet heightened consumer demands and achieve impressive improvements in efficiency and customer satisfaction with the connected store.

At Peak Technologies, we are committed to bridging the gap and helping businesses create a seamless and compelling customer experience. Feel free to check out our retail and omnichannel solutions — or get in touch to learn more about other opportunities to develop a connected store ecosystem.