Retailers are interested in adopting the Internet
of Things in the coming years, and better customer experience is one of the driving forces.
Bringing digital capabilities to the physical shopping experience is increasingly important, and
retailers worldwide say the Internet of Things may be the way to do it, according to a new study.
The study, conducted by Research Now and Qualtrics for Zebra Technologies, comprises a global
survey of 1,700 executives across multiple retail segments.
Almost three-quarters (70%) of executives said they plan to use beacons for location-based marketing by 2021, according to the
study.
“Every inch of the retail industry is changing, from the aisles of the warehouse to the shelves of the store, and retailers are driving this change in a race to better serve
customers,” stated Jeff Schmitz, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Zebra Technologies.
“Retailers are poised to meet and exceed customer expectations with new
levels of personalization, speed and convenience,” Schmitz said.
The two main focuses appear to be related to tracking. Retailers seem to be interested in real-time tracking of inventory
throughout the supply-chain, as well as the customers interested in buying that inventory while in-store.
Almost three quarters (72%) of executives said they plan to utilize sensors, analytics
and automation to re-engineer their supply chain to enable real-time product visibility, according to the study.
Slightly more (75%) said they plan to be able to know which customers are in a
store and be able to tailor the in-store experience to those customers on an individual basis by 2021.
Here is the breakdown of IoT investments by retailers in the next five years:
- 81% -- Security sensors
- 75% -- Sensors that track inventory for sale
- 73% -- Monitoring IoT devices
- 71% -- Sensors that track consumers’ footpaths
- 70%
-- Beacons for location-based marketing
- 65% -- Automated systems for inventory management