Retailers are planning to invest heavily in in-store technology over the next five years, according to a survey of more than 500 North American retailers conducted by Boston Retail Partners, and compiled in the chart below by BI Intelligence.
- While only 3% percent of retailers currently have the ability to identify customers walking into their stores, 72% plan on adding the capability within five years.
- This indicates that merchants have a large appetite for beacons. These devices communicate with consumers' smartphones via a Bluetooth signal and are particularly suited to recognizing customers when they enter a store.
- 16% of retailers currently collect real-time data from their point-of-sale (POS) systems, but 63% plan on implementing this practice within five years.
- Real-time POS allows retailers to make better use of analytics to adjust pricing and discounts on the fly.
Mobile technology - both in stores and in consumers' hands - will create a much more targeted in-store marketing approach.
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