The death of the mall has been much foretold. Now that people are shopping online and don’t need to leave the comfort of their homes, we’re told, consumers never need to venture out to a shop. There are many things wrong with that assumption, but it’s true that peoples’ new techno-centric lifestyles have hurt traditional shops and malls. So they are fighting back, with help from an unlikely source: The technology that robbed them of business in the first place. According to a slew of recent reports, shopping centers and brands are busy exploring ways that technology can improve their products and lure customers in an increasingly complex world of multichannel offerings. “Today people seamlessly glide between their physical and virtual worlds. Customers are shopping and browsing and informing themselves on the go and they expect the same from retailers,” wrote the authors of “Retail’s Digital Future,” a comprehensive report published by the British Council for Shopping Centres and the law firm Addleshaw Goddard. The report highlights emerging technology trends, such as the use of beacons that interact with shoppers’ phones and guide them through the center, augmented reality “magic mirrors” in changing rooms, e-wallets and 3-D printing, which retailers hope will rekindle consumers’
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