Series Two – The Impact of Technology on Retail
Our latest blog series pulls together valuable retail statistics, with series 2 focusing on some key technological retail trends which drive and support customer purchases.
What do Customers think of technology in retail?
Analysis indicates that customers believe retailers do not always have the technology to deliver on customer expectations. Research by Salesforce [1] states 53% of millennial’s do not think store associates have the right tools to deliver great customer service, for example mobile devices to look up customer profiles and suitable product recommendation.
Growth in AI
The impact of AI on the retail world is a hotly debated topic. A report by Capgemini [2] stated the implementation of AI in retail has jumped from 4% in 2016 to 28% in 2018 and this figure is rapidly escalating. With retailers predicted to spend $7.3 billion on AI by 2022. Ultimately retailers are focused on ways in which AI can help swell customer spend and improve experience and are excited by tangible evidence which address these objectives. Salesforce [1] indicated when consumers follow AI-powered product recommendations, their average order value increases by 14%.
Increase in Data Scientists
According to Gartner [3] by 2020 more than 40% of data analytics projects will relate to customer experience as retailers harness the power of data and AI. Salesforce [1] reports how this will significantly impact the retail workforce, with brand leaders planning to hire 50% more data scientists in the next three years. Hiringlab4 supports these findings reporting a surge of 31% in Data Scientists job postings in 2019.
Voice Technology
Adoption of Voice technology has increased and is driven by consumers love of simplicity and shopping with ease. Retailers are expected to adapt quickly with an impressive anticipated growth of 127% 1 in the coming year. Furthermore by 20203 Gartner predicts that 25% of customer service operations will adopt virtual customer assistants.
Mobile Payment Apps and Wallets
There has also been a significant rise in digital and mobile wallet use and again this trend is set to escalate. Mobile payments are estimated to be worth $14 trillion by 2022 [4] with China leading the way at 47%. The use of mobile wallet also spans generations, findings indicate that a surprising 44% of smartphone users between the ages of 35-44 have a mobile wallet.
1. https://www.salesforce.com/blog/2019/04/customer-retail-statistics.html
4. https://www.paymentscardsandmobile.com/mobile-wallet-global-usage-statistic/