Implications of IoT in Retail industry

By CIOReview | Friday, January 25, 2019

Internet of Things (IoT) has taken the technology industry by storm. It has penetrated into deepest corners of a business application. IoT has brought many innovative solutions, which has helped the enterprises to make their services and product efficient. It has also helped the companies to gather a vast amount of data that can be used by analytics tools to provide insights into aspects like customer experience, service or product quality, and many other information.

The retail industry has also started leveraging IoT technology for effective services. According to an estimation, IoT in retail can turn out to be a $94 bn market by the end of 2025. Here is a detailed analysis of how IoT is helping Retail industry:

Easier retail Management: Online shopping has taken more significant chunks of business from the brick-and-mortar store. Retail management has been modernized with the IoT tools. These tools have helped to upgrade the operations of traditional stores with better inventory management techniques like smart shelves. The smart shelves are reducing shrinkage and streamlining the supply chain.

IoT is setting Benchmarks in Self-driving cars: Many companies are exploring the retail possibilities of IoT into autonomous vehicles. It involves a platform where a consumer can shop directly from autonomous vehicles through a secure and convenient car experience without any driver distraction. The payments on the digital platforms are done in such a way that the customers don’t need to enter their credentials for every purchase.

Rise of Ambient Commerce Solutions: Ambient commerce leverages IoT technology and combines it with traditional retail stores to attract younger customers. According to GlobalData, ambient commerce will be the preferred destination for the younger generation with self-checkout counters. The solution also uses AI and other recent technologies to combine sensors with retail stores.

Consumer IoT gets Better: IoT technology has helped to abolish the slow and anarchic processes of the retail industry. Every chore is at a click away as IoT emerges as a dominant player in retail services. Technology has also helped the customers to choose from a wide array of options.

IoT is expected to bring more dramatic shifts in the retail industry in the coming months and years. It is also likely to make the back-end inventory system more efficient and innovative.