In store retail sales dropped up to 15% in one year due to the increased popularity of online shopping. The information, such as customer reviews and related products, available online about a particular item is immense and also very easy to access. This information was simiply not available in retail stores, until now. Interpublic Group of Cos. is testing new technology that offers information one could find online and more, in the store. Some of this technology includes interactive dressing-room mirrors, kiosks with virtual customer-service representatives, and shopping carts and digital scanners that offer personalized discounts.
J.C. Penney is one retailer testing out some basic technology. At select locations, consumers find a 52-inch touch screen that shows all of the retailers merchandise, allows the consumer to e-mail information about an item to themselves or to anyone they want and even get recommendations by scanning the bar code of a particular product. Stop & Shop Supermarket has handheld scanners that show customers personalized discounts based on shopping history and just-purchased items. Another device is a mirror that allows a shopper to scan a dress and have the dress project the clothing onto her body, change the colors, and even upload it directly to her Facebook page.
This new technology will bring telecommunication and retail services together in a way they have never been. It allows for the communication of a plethora of information from the retailer to the consumer in an interactive manner. This may not be a conventional use of telecommunications services, but it has the ability to add an aspect to the industry that is simply not there now.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704540904575451841980063132.html
ReplyDeleteWhen I initially read your post, the thing that really struck me was the fact that these new innovations really only emerge as a response to another larger issue. For example, with the popularity of sites like Amazon and eBay growing quite rapidly, it makes going to big box retailers less attractive. Not only are these online retailers cheaper because they have lower overhead, but customers get reviews from hundreds of people before they purchase the product. With marketing techniques such as offering Amazon Prime free to students, it makes buying online even more attractive and at times you can even avoid paying sales tax.
ReplyDeleteWith the retail sales numbers tanking they had to think of something that would slow this trend. While I do think the products are extremely intriguing, I'm not sure I see them as revolutionizing the market as a whole. "Etailers" are continually finding ways to make shopping with them easier, from the ability to use your mobile device all the way to providing video reviews. It will be interesting to look at numbers of online sales in direct comparison to traditional purchases done at the storefront. In my opinion, we can look for more innovation from the online merchants than we can from large companies with storefront. It would not be out of the question to ask why the product couldn't be implemented for home use via a webcam. With all these questions in mind, the one thing we can be certain of is that this issue should be worthy of our attention in the near future.
Retail stores are definitely going down every year. People have started to buy and sell online, it first began in the United States. And i remember when people started buying and selling online BIG TIME. Other countries like Great Britain population bought and sold online, but it wasn't as big as the United States. In the other hands some countries like Saudi Arabia, they didn't sell and buy stuff at all online. It started few years ago were Saudi Arabia and Emirate started using the internet as a source for buying and selling.
ReplyDeleteI think buying and selling online is a great idea for lots of people. I had a friend in high school who needed money. His parents couldn't give him a lot of money for him to live. His advisor at school saw that he is very good at business. So he told the student that he should start to try to sell stuff on ebay. The student started to buy and sell stuff online, and made lots of money. So what i am saying is there is a lot of demand for products online. And that is a big dangerous thing for retail shops.