Retail in a forever changed consumer landscape
A radical shift in buyer behaviours due to Covid-19 will see a forever changed consumer landscape.
As of May, 2020, approximately 62% of UK shoppers said that due to the coronavirus outbreak, they reduced shopping in physical stores.
These shoppers turned to technology to adapt their shopping method in a socially distanced world, bridging the gap between the physical and virtual shopping worlds. If your customers can’t come to you, you can use Mercury Orders online ordering software to take your product and services to them.
What is the future of shopping?
In-store retail experiences are evolving – and will continue to long after lockdown measures ease. Until a vaccine is available, social distancing will dictate how we shop.
Increasingly, location-based services will be an integral part of modern shopping experiences. This technology, offers various services depending on a user’s location. Mercury Order facilitates this through click and collect and delivery to accommodate the most convenient store for your customers.
Despite the chaos caused by the outbreak of the coronavirus, the crisis is bringing into focus a number of pre-existing problems with the way we shop, such as complicated store layouts, inventory issues and restricted selling in store. After coronavirus, people will be more convenience-conscious and hygienic-conscious, while retailers will be looking for ways to adapt to the potentially permanent shift in consumer behaviour.
Three ways technology is changing retail
- Click and collect
Improve supply chain management and the ‘last-mile efficiency’, avoid missed deliveries and limit person-to-person contact with click and collect. Allow customers to track their order before picking it up.
- Location-based online ordering
Online ordering shopping experiences are booming, offering value to retailers and customers. Location technology allows retailers to offer geo-targeted services that can open up new revenue streams. Location-aware apps or online ordering systems such as Mercury Order Retail allow customers to discover if items are in stock, duplicate previous orders at a click and shop from the comfort of their home.
- Click and mortar
In this current society retailers cannot rely solely on brick and mortar or digital storefronts. The successful companies are fusing the virtual and the physical to offer customers added value that makes their shopping experiences safer and more convenient.
Covid-19 has been a catalyst in speeding up the advance of the digital shopping world, which was inevitably coming. Contact Mercury Order today to bring your business up to speed with this transformed retail landscape.
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