9 Ways in which Internet of Things Transforming the Retail Industry

The retail industry is a network of supply and demand chains that includes the various distribution centres and logistics. Several factors control and effect this intricate network and one may find it difficult to keep track of all these factors at a time.
The use of computing technology in the industry nowadays, allows the manufacturers, wholesalers as well as retailers to effectively manage these different factors. Internet of Things is one of the biggest trends in the computing and IT industry that is responsible for the revolution in various industries.
Here are the top 9 ways in which the Internet of Things trend has transformed the retail industry.
- Make Payments: Internet of Things has truly revolutionized the finance industry by enabling smarter payment methods like internet banking, cashless transactions using plastic currency, as well as NFC enabled payments. Now you do not need to carry cash to a store to buy a few items, instead, you can just load money onto your smartphone and directly pay via it to check out.
- Automated Inventory Check: Inventory checking is one of the most crucial activities that a distribution centre needs to perform on a regular basis. It is a simpler process when you host a small distribution centre. However, as the size and capacity of your distribution centre grow, you need smarter ways to keep track of the inventory. Internet of Things allows you to keep track of the inventory using the RF-ID technologies to mark and store the data for the inventory digitally.
- Maintenance of Shop Floor: Maintaining a clean and hygienic environment inside the shopping centre is a huge task that one needs to carry out to ensure a good customer retention. Several modern-day cleaning technologies can automatically sweep and mop the shop floor to ensure that it is free from any unhygienic substances.
- Security of Stock Inventory: Internet of Things has a huge implementation in the field of security. When you host a large enough distribution or shopping centre, it is efficient to hire a high-tech network of security cameras and monitoring devices to keep the products safe. These devices can monitor the activity of the warehouse/shopping centre and can automatically warn the nearby police in case of a mishap.
- Logistics and Supply Chain Management: The Internet of Things devices help in keeping track of various products in transit from the manufacturing factory, all the way to the customer’s doorstep. The supply chain management is carried out by various ID tags and scanner technologies that are incorporated into the core of the logistics department.
- Intra-Warehouse Transport: Intra-warehouse transport is a big task especially for humongous distribution and shopping centres. The Internet of Things technologies allows the robots and other automated equipment to carry and stack the necessary products at the correct location within the centre without the guidance of humans. The intra-warehouse transport can also help in bringing the product from cold storage to the customer at a help desk in the matter of a few seconds.
- Market Research and Analysis: Internet of Things devices can now perform complex tasks such as market research and analysis by multiple operating variables at a time. Several companies are already using the AI and Internet of Things technologies in carrying out their day to day business decisions.
- Smart Store: The smart store is a new concept that is brought forth by companies like Amazon and Walmart. These stores use the Internet of Things interconnectivity to automatically make payments and generate bills for various articles that a customer purchases. Now the customer need not wait in a long queue to get their bill sorted and can pay automatically via internet banking as he/she leaves the store.
- Automated Customer Care: Automated customer care allows the Internet of Things devices to take care of the customer complaints and suggest you the best course of action that you will require to make the customer your priority.
We can say that Internet of Things is the future of retail industry since it has truly revolutionized the industry and help us serve the customers a little better.

