Nick Ismail of the Information Age has penned an article about the future retail experience in the era of Amazon Go and beyond. As Ismail notes, Amazon Go heralds a new way of thinking for the retailer-customer relationship.
Image Credit: Amazon
“Shopping won’t ever be the same again, thanks to the blend of digital, IoT and mobile technology. Consumers simply enter the store, take the products they want and go,” he explained. “This new concept means shoppers will never have to wait in line again. The convenience and ease of payment this will create for time-starved consumers can easily be imagined.”
Once adopted widely, says Ismail, this new technology-driven, physical store concept will shift retail into a new paradigm. Moreover, data collected by various IoT devices will provide retailers with “never-before” gleaned consumer insights, allowing them to tailor and target their business to the precise needs of customers.
As we’ve previously discussed on Rambus Press, the term ‘buying experience’ is becoming increasingly prevalent as the focus moves away from technologies that enable payments towards enriching interactions with the consumer. For example, after a customer opts-in, stores will have direct access to detailed shopping data. By analyzing past and predicting future behavior, retailers can provide smart recommendations to deliver a hyper-personalized buying experience and tailoring offers or promotions to meet the differing requirements of its customers.
Beyond tailored offers, the future shopping experience is likely to combine evolving technology such as augmented reality (AR), advanced beacons and biometrics that will allow retailers to change an outdated brick-and-mortar paradigm and bolster their engagement with consumers. With the advent of Amazon Go, shopping is on track to becoming a truly interactive experience, as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi beacons scan digital profiles (stored in the cloud and accessed on mobile devices and wearables) to generate recommendations in real time. Items can also be scanned with mobile augmented reality (AR) apps that overlay information and display related items on top of existing products.
Meanwhile, next-gen biometric authentication, such as iris scans and voice authentication, are evolving to meet industry expectations for quick, effortless and secure mobile payment transactions. It should be noted that Samsung’s S8/S8+ smartphone features iris scanning, facial recognition and fingerprint scanning technology. Moreover, Samsung’s Pass, which allows users to easily log into mobile banking apps and websites, will be expanding into additional financial services across the US, Europe and Asia through partnerships with Bank of America, US Bank, Mastercard and Visa.
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