The Impact of Technology on the Retail Marketing - Essay Example

Retail marketingRetail marketing Retail marketing has been experiencing dynamic change over the years; this has been driven by corporate decision-making, inter-format competition, and market concentration. This has led to new trends in retail marketing including change in the consumers, competition, technology, and the economy (Burt, 1991, 490). Some of the trends include incorporation of technology in retailing, self service, automated vending machines, branding, use of barcodes, after sale service provision, ecommerce, store and loyalty cards, electronic point of sales (EPOS), and the use of mobile wallet (CHOU, 2010).

Knowing these trends will allow retailers to incorporate necessary changes including technology development and incorporation in their business, increasing communication with customers for loyalty card development and other measures, and allow them to be proactive rather than reactivity (Javadi et al., 2012, 89). This paper will analyze the impact of technology development for interactive store environments. The trend that has had a major effect on the retail industry is technological development (Verhoef et al.

, 2009, 30). Technological development has had major impacts on the retail industry including a change in the strategies implemented in retail marketing. The implications for retail strategy are the needs to augment the technology in the retail environment include the incorporation of technology in the retail environment to suit the needs of the consumers and ensure sales are made within a short duration (Vel, 2010, 210). Technology development has increased interaction in store environments through the realization by retailers that to maintain clients they had to ensure a lively, engaging, and interactive.

Interaction in stores has been augmented using smart phones and tablets that aid in product demonstrations, payment, encouraging sharing in social media, and provision of extra information (Ellis-Chadwick, 2007, p.7). Payments are processed in any part of the store in major retail outlets using iphones, smart phones, and tablets allowing for shortening of lines and augmenting client satisfaction. Interaction in stores has also been implemented using large interactive display that engages the consumer, with the feedback being that the experience to the consumer is engaging, interactive and powerful.

Interaction has also been augmented through allowing consumers to browse using the mobile devices in the stores to get further information and increase their involvement (Swinyard, 1997, 248). Investment in big data to know and predict future behavior to provide tailored products has been used to increased interaction in stores. These strategies are relevant and are very effective in augmenting interaction with the consumer and aids in increasing sales and profitability. The strategies give the consumer more information and they feel compelled o make purchase due to the interaction.

In future, I recommend increased use of large displays allowing customers to browse through and check on products using hand gestures, enabling customers in fashion stores will be able to test makeup virtually, using technology to provide instant information to consumers, customizing mobile application promotions, online shopping, presence in more than one channels (Prepletaný, 2013, 98). An example of a company that has used technology to increase interaction in retailing is Burberry, the luxury retailer, when it allowed customers to live-stream the London Fashion week in its stores, then ipads were distributed to the customers to browse and later buy the items they saw.

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Managing Service Quality, 17(6), 702 -722.JAVADI, M., DOLATABADI, H., NOURBAKHSH, M., POURSAEEDI, A. & ASADOLLAHI, A., 2012, "An Analysis of Factors Affecting on Online Shopping Behavior of Consumers", International Journal of Marketing Studies, vol. 4, no. 5, pp. 81-98.CHOU, T. J. (2010). Retail pricing strategies in recession economies : the case of Taiwan. American Marketing Association. http://itupl-ura1.ml.unisa.edu.au:80/R/?func=dbin- jump-full&object_id=unisa44908.VEL,.P. & MOSAVI, N. (2010). Retail cost optimization, strategy, and information Technology.

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