The Future of Retail Experience — Tools for Shopper Retention
How hyperautomation is enhancing the product discovery process and evolving the retail customer experience
The future of retail experience will be driven by tech-savvy shoppers.
According to Hubspot, a “5% increase in [overall customer] retention rate can lead to a rise in profit between 25% to 95%.” To grow customers’ retention rates in retail, a seamless purchasing journey is a necessity.
As reported by IBM, AI systems have the greatest impact in retail when focused on improving the customer experience. With 325,000 retailers projected to utilize AI-based tools by 2023, the time to adopt emerging technologies is now.
Failure to do so will result in dissatisfied buyers as high-tech online shopping becomes the new normal. These negative interactions will affect the overall lifetime value of a retailer’s consumer base. In the long run, this will only lead to a significant loss of profits.
Introducing hyperautomation in retail: one of the latest technology solutions for brands to improve customer retention rates.
Automation vs Hyperautomation — Is There Really a Difference?
According to Gartner, “Hyperautomation deals with the application of advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), to increasingly automate processes and augment humans. Hyperautomation extends across a range of tools that can be automated, but also refers to the sophistication of the automation (i.e., discover, analyze, design, automate, measure, monitor, reassess.)”
Essentially, hyperautomation is a more advanced process than traditional automation technology, with a focus on mimicking shoppers’ and merchandisers’ behavior. The technology automates repetitive tasks that traditional E-Commerce computer algorithms are not smart enough to perform. This is due to the complexity of its retail-specific answer-seeking process. Tasks requiring hyperautomation typically demand high-precision results to be considered useful in a retail business context.
While there are many avenues and benefits of hyperautomation, one specifically will help improve the shopper experience.
Visual Search for a More Valuable Shopping Experience
Hyperautomated retail AI can even “automate” buyers’ actions while shopping.
Product Discovery Process
To certain customers, fashion-specific terminology can be a language of its own. And those not well versed in it may have a difficult time finding exactly what they are looking for. From identifying patterns to fit to design, manually searching for a specific item can be extremely frustrating for customers that cannot accurately describe it.
The extensive search process can lead to exhaustion during the customer’s purchasing journey, causing them to have a negative perception of the retailer. To retain customers and increase loyalty, retailers should strive to make it as easy as possible for customers to find and buy a product. Enter visual search.
Visual Search Makes It Easier
Visual search technology enables shoppers to receive precise product recommendations based on the item that they are viewing.
From color to style, AI automatically analyzes and compares the viewed product with a retailers’ inventory. In a matter of seconds, shoppers receive similar product recommendations, increasing the likelihood of making a purchase.
Customers will no longer have to worry about an item being out of stock in their size. They will immediately receive replacement options to move them along the buying process.
Hyperautomated product recommendations enable a seamless shopping experience from start to finish.
Influencer Image Shopping Search
Influencer culture is driving the reality that 72% of Instagram users make retail purchases based on posted content. From jewelry to clothing, influencers’ followers are looking to purchase the same items. However, unless they’re being paid as a brand sponsor, influencers do not typically share where they purchased their products from. As a result, their followers are lead down a rabbit hole trying to locate similar styles.
Hyperautomation can allow your retail business to turn this shopper frustration into a business opportunity. Visual search recommendation tools allow shoppers to upload influencers’ pictures directly to a retailer’s website, automatically locating similar items in a matter of seconds.
The fashion technology can essentially drive leads to a retailer’s website without any previous involvement with influencers, indirectly forming organic influencer marketing. This is a win-win situation for both retailers and consumers, as their relationship will grow with each image search.
The Rise of Hyperautomated Retail
Boosts sales and customer advocacy for your clothing business by utilizing key technologies as a primary industry differentiator. Ensuring that your online store is on par with (or even ahead of) shopper demand will be vital in becoming a winner in the fierce retail competition.
While hyperautomation is a new concept in retail right now, it won’t be for long. To remain competitive, retailers need to consider how hyperautomation-based technology can specifically increase retention rates to grow their consumers’ lifetime values.
