Brick & mortar retailers are strapping on the “tech” gloves
Dramatic declines in consumer foot traffic and rising operational costs have punched brick & mortar retailers straight to the gut, leading to the increase in “Going Out of Business” signs in store windows across America. Who can blame consumers for opting for the “smiling” boxes speedily delivered ‘same day’ to their doorsteps over the all-to-common brick & mortar experience filled with inventory shortages and painfully long price checks called in by fewer and fewer overworked cashiers. It’s also hard to blame any retailer for turning off the lights when trying to keep employees from chasing the next dollar in a hyper-competitive labor market while dealing with disruptive supply chain issues and seemingly uncontrollable shrinkage.
Smart brick & mortar retailers are fighting back and driving traffic back into re-invented stores outfitted with IoT+AI solutions. These technologies are fundamentally altering retail operations in ways that dramatically increase store efficiency, drive more productive, happier store staff, and create a better, more personalized shopping experience for customers. From cloud-based planogram management and spot inventories completed by computer-vision shelve scanning to cashier-less checkouts to the metaverse melding the online and in-store shopping experiences, the excitement around IoT+AI is driving significant investor interest back into physical retail.
