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Tech trends to anticipate this holiday season

By novembre 12, 2021No Comments

Digital Smart Labels with credit cards

This year things are a little different. Despite all the changes post-pandemic and the downs of the last 24 months, consumers are ready to shop and more so, spend money! There’s no denying that everything we know—and are used to—when it comes to holiday shopping is different this year, so what are some things to keep in mind for in-store shopping for the remainder of 2021?

Throughout the rest of the text, we’ll highlight a few innovative ways our Digital Smart Labels™ can elevate your in-store strategy, how these digital tools have been used thus far, and most importantly, how they might transform holiday shopping for all of us! Simplifying the shopping experience is key today, and retailers must be prepared to deliver an interactive and unforgettable shopping experience for all of their customers. 

New times call for new strategies. Let’s see what to expect for the rest of 2021 and onward. 

In-store shopping is here to stay

Navigating through shopping during this holiday season might be new, but one thing that’s still familiar to all of us and is here to stay is in-store shopping. Yes, e-commerce has been on the rise, especially lately, but nothing can compare to an in-store experience. In fact, consumers are so eager to get out and shop that many retailers are predicting that this year’s holiday shopping is just around the corner as we swiftly move into November. 

An article from CTV News titled Canadians plan to spend more on holiday shopping this year, survey finds mentions, “Canadians are ready to put the disruption of COVID behind them and are looking forward to returning to brick-and-mortar stores…The RCC expects November to remain the busiest shopping month, with 36 percent of consumers saying this is when they would start chipping away at their shopping list.”.

Start with digital

Before we dabble into a few other tech tools and tactics that are transforming the shopping experience in-store, the one digital tool helping the core of operations is our very own Digital Smart Labels™. Eliminating the mundane task of manually changing and updating product prices, while saving retailers time and money, Digital Smart Labels™ are trailblazing from one store to the next. 

With a battery life of 10+ years and the ability to update in seconds, retailers can be better prepared for a busy holiday season! No need to spend countless hours updating prices before a sale event or promotion. With just a click of a button, you can have a product label go from regular to clearance—it’s that easy! 

In combination with helping in-store management operations and day-to-day workflow, Digital Smart Labels™ are also a great tool to use to apply interactive and vibrant promotional content for your customers. With a variety of options when it comes to font, colour, and size and the rising demand for dynamic pricing, retailers are turning to digital price labels now more than ever to interact with customers and keep up with their competitors. 

Shopping post-pandemic

A CNBC article titled Do you need to start holiday shopping even earlier this year? Here’s what retail experts say observes, “Back-to-school and back-to-work trends drove a higher level of transactions despite the headwinds of inventory shortages and inflation, but what about early holiday shopping?”

If you haven’t already heard on the news, it looks like Canadians are ready to shop—and they’re ready to go earlier than expected. It could just be the holiday excitement or consumers simply wanting to jump back into ‘normal’ shopping after the many lockdowns and shutdowns. 

What an experience!

As we mentioned earlier, Digital Smart Labels™ are a tech tool you need today! Once your store is digitally updated, then it’s time to get more familiar with other strategies and tactics to improve in-store efficiency.

Chip Bergh, the CEO of Levi’s, makes an important remark with CNBC’s Jim Cramer, saying “Personalization and customization is a huge consumer trend…Consumers want to come into the store and they want an experience-if they’re going to just come in and transact, they can do that online. But they want to come into a store and have an experience, something that’s unique, something that’s instagrammable.” 

Today, even though we are still functioning through already known precautionary pandemic restrictions, an in-store experience is key to building brand loyalty and assuring customer appreciation and satisfaction. 

Modern and simple

Other modern implementations that we have seen throughout a variety of retail stores are self-checkouts and mobile transaction points. Many retailers have opted for iPad or smartphone-operated transactional methods with POS systems. This enables employees to conduct a sale without being tied to a specific cash register in the store—which is especially beneficial during the busy holiday season with a lot of foot traffic! Being able to complete a sale with the card reader attached and connected to a device of your choice anywhere in the store can eliminate long wait times and overcrowding. 

Information

In our previous blogs, we’ve mentioned the increased use of QR codes. QR codes are becoming more prevalent throughout the retail industry as they are a quick connection to information sources. Consumers are now able to scan codes within a store and get more information on particular items and/or products. 

Bring it on 

With the holidays being a couple of weeks away and restrictions loosening up, it is both a busy and exciting time for consumers and retailers. Busy can easily go from hectic to productive with a few efficient improvements we mentioned above. And implementing digital tools and strategies can make a remarkable difference when it comes to the in-store shopping experience.

Digital Smart Labels™, instant and versatile check-out points, and scan available information are here to change the game, allowing both the retailer and consumer to win. Simple, efficient, and no hassle! Did we mention that most of this is a call away? Contact us today and let us help you have a stress-free holiday season! 

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