Retail UX and Mobile Technology
“mobile integration—Various retailers are already exploiting massive mobile integration opportunities. This is happening now; it’s no longer on the horizon. Many retailers are already accepting mobile payments and mobile coupons. Mobile loyalty programs are also becoming more common. In-store wayfinding via mobile devices is starting to take off, too. While Google still doesn’t have a solution that really fits the masses, a handful of solutions already exist that make this possible. However, I think there will be a rise in contextually relevant, pushed notifications. The length of time a customer spends looking for a product might trigger an alert to a customer service agent. Once that agent helps the customer, he might generate a virtual coupon to encourage that person to make a purchase decision.
virtual shopping—The connection between online shopping and in-store shopping will become stronger. Users can already browse a product catalog online and pick up their purchases at a store and vice versa. I believe retailers are going to start re-examining the retail shopping experience as a whole and figure out how to integrate virtual shopping behavior into the retail shopping experience. Stores like IKEA, with their huge showroom footprints, will be able to reduce those footprints by allowing users to shop virtually while in a store. I’ve already seen some examples of how this can work. An IKEA pop-up store allowed users to sit in a café-style environment, using an iPad to browse virtual showrooms, then see hard goods when they were ready. Another early example is the fitting-room interactive mirror that the Forbes article ‘Dressing Rooms of the Future’ described.”
Frictionless Commerce
“Frictionless commerce is an emerging theme that I think holds the potential to significantly impact retail UX strategy,” states Ronnie. “Making it easier for people to part with their money using digital solutions is nothing new, and there is a constant stream of evermore innovative ideas that retailers are successfully piloting in numerous forms around the globe. From PayPal’s ability to quickly process online transactions to the emergence of Square and virtual wallets, we continue to evolve toward easier, frictionless payment mechanisms. Now, with the next wave of mobile technology that Google Glass is leading, people will have the ability to access product information in real time and make both planned and impulse purchases with little or no friction.
“Digital access to in brick-and-mortar retail stores is nothing new. In the future, a shopper who we’ll call John would go to a big-box retailer like Best Buy to shop for and buy a TV. When he found one he likes, he would look it up online or scan its barcode with his mobile phone to read reviews and find out who else offers the same TV at what price and where. He would then use this information to get a better deal in the store. Indeed, many of us are already doing this now, but it’s taken a while for the technology to catch up. Critical mass has emerged only in the past few years with the near ubiquity of smartphones that provide 4G Web access.
“Not long from now,” continues Ronnie, “another shopper who we’ll callMary might sport a wearable technology like Google Glass. With its head-up view and hands-free interactions, Google Glass reduces the friction of one-eye, one-hand mobile interactions.
“Mary might simply walk past Best Buy and receive geotargeted marketing for a TV sale to which she’s opted in. But Mary needs more: profile analytics show that she does not purchase consumer electronics without doing significant research. Knowing this, the system can help her to avoid the friction of comparison shopping when making large purchases by providing her with immediate access to the review sites that she trusts, coupled with the latest pricing from other online and in-store retailers. If Mary decides to purchase, but doesn’t want to stand in line to pay by credit card, she can make her purchase entirely friction free by completing it with a voice-activated virtual wallet that is digitally tethered to her eyeglasses.
“Of course, how such capabilities eventually manifest themselves may turn out to be quite different, but they will happen. Such trends—both successes and failures—will emerge organically through countless channels. UX Strategists will play an integral role in helping retailers to understand and adapt to these new interaction models for the retail shopping experience.”
