Total Tech for the Smart Store
The Evolving Role of the Store
of shoppers want personalization from retailers
80%
Companies with Engaged Employees Have
20%
(Epsilon and GBH Insights, 2017, “The power of me: the impact of personalization on marketing performance”)
(Quantum Workplace, “The Future of Retail: Emerging Retail Employee Engagement Trends and HR Best Practices.")
Using technology to establish and enhance connections with your shoppers and associates is no small task, simply because of all the solutions available:
Creating the Store of the Future Today: The Elements of a Smart Store
of respondents planned to increase spending on technology in the next 12 months
(Total Retail, Orckestra, NAPCO Research: 2020 Retail Technology Report: An Analysis of Trends, Buying Behaviors and Future Opportunities)
increase in average purchase amount attributed to digital signage
(Mvix, “89 Proven Digital Signage Statistics,” 2020)
29.5%
(Omdia)
What items are short-term fixes; which are long-term investments?
Decisions and Integrations
retailers struggle with tech integration
(TotalRetail, “2020 Retail Technology Report: An Analysis of Trends, Buying Behaviors, and Future Opportunities’)
3
of those surveyed cited lack of qualified personnel as the biggest factor slowing their organization’s adoption of AI
16%
(2020 State of AI Survey, Source: Omdia in conjunction with Information Week and ITPro Today)
To properly create a comprehensive smart system for a business, an expert must understand that business. Connection’s team has extensive experience in retail; we know stores because we’ve worked in them. We know your customers and how to market to them, and what your associates need to be more efficient and more engaged to serve shoppers happily — and increase your sales as a result.
We also know technology. Because we are not tied to one given system, we know every manufacturer — what they make now, what’s under development and how each product works.
We have the hardware for every kind of environment and the expertise to customize your content in an intuitive
Trusting the experts
of retail executives feel their company is ready for the shifting landscape
(Google, “Retail’s Transformative Year: New Google Research Shows the Impact of COVID-19 on Holiday Shopping.” December 2020)
51%
In the best possible world, smart stores work for shoppers, staff, and headquarters executives.
Customers expect more personalization, convenience, and engagement. Your associates, too, want to be empowered and engaged, free to move about the store, interact with shoppers, and find opportunities to advance in their careers. And with an eye to the bottom line, corporate requires more control over inventory, instant access to information and greater security.
Fortunately, technology to aid in all the above exists and continues to evolve, allowing retailers both large and small to create systems that are scalable, upgradeable, flexible, and adaptable — if they all work together.
Future-Proofing YOur Solution
With significant experience in retail, deep knowledge of tech manufacturers and trends, Connection can help you develop a comprehensive strategy to create your smart store. We can help you:
Connection Helps You Literally Connect Them All
A shopper enters the store seeking an item researched online. With the help of AI, she finds the right location, but not the right size. An associate, empowered with a tablet, searches the backroom stock, locates the item, and checks the customer out on the spot — unless, of course, the shopper is inspired to shop more based on personalized messages sent to her own mobile device. Rather than a chore, the process is interactive, fun, and personalized for both the customer and the associate.
which can assist in search functions, marketing and digital maps with real-time, in-store inventory and forecasting, creating a wow factor.
which streamline mundane tasks for employees.
which projects documents, objects, people, or scenes onto a large screen, for customer engagement for digital marketing, and monitors checkout for security.
displaying customized content to promote specific products and activities and inform and entertain your shoppers.
that go beyond just a payment solution to enable inventory control and invaluable analytics.
providing secure checkout on mobile devices allowing your associates to come to your customers.
Just imagine:
This can be your store, too.
2/3
increase in average customer satisfaction attributed to digital signage
(Mvix, “89 Proven Digital Signage Statistics,” 2020)
46%
All these options mean there are a lot of decisions to be made about what to use and how to use them:
higher sales
higher customer satisfaction
lower turnover
less
shrinkage
10%
24%
28%
4
in
Artificial Intelligence
cameravision
INTERNET OF THINGS (IoT) DEVICES
Digital Signage
POS SYSTEMS
Mobile Solutions
Stores used to be simple: shoppers came, browsed, purchased, and left. No longer. In-store retail today must be an experience for both shoppers and associates, where customers can experience the product and benefit from associate expertise, whether they’re buying in-store or picking up or exchanging an online purchase.
Customers want interactivity and entertainment, as well as items that are in stock, and a simple and secure checkout process. As important, associates want — and need — to be empowered and actively engaged with shoppers. We’re not just seeing a retail transformation, but a workplace transformation that will not just elevate the consumer experience but also improve employee satisfaction and productivity.
All of that requires stores to truly become “smart,” combining the best of various technologies to create a seamless experience for shoppers and associates. But what elements are right for any given store — and how do we ensure they all work together?
You rely on experts in various construction trades to build your store under the direction of a general contractor — your technology installation requires no less. An all-in-one solution from one manufacturer will work together seamlessly, but will it give you what you need at an advantageous price? Working with multiple manufacturers, on the other hand, will entail researching each component and then ensuring all will work together now and in the future.
Most important, how do they all work together to achieve your goals?
What technologies are best in class?
How do you research that? By comparing what others have done?
Once you’ve decided what you need, where do you get your components? From one manufacturer or from multiple sources to create a custom solution?
The answer is to trust an expert who can help you create a holistic system that will serve you now and grow and adapt as your needs change.
content management system (CMS). For example, we offer digital signage media players designed to run 24 hours a day and enable easy access and control over your displays and content, from anywhere. You can create your own content or leave it to the experts to design and deliver your messaging for better in-store engagement.
Connection’s Retail Technology Solutions are ideal for SMB and enterprise convenience stores, specialty retailers, and quick service restaurants (QSRs). We can design a system, integrate the components for maximum efficiency, train your associates and work with you to assess, execute, and manage your cloud initiatives so you can gain more and better insights into your guests.
For more information and to discuss how Connection can help you create a smart, connected store, contact us.
Our Retail Cloud Solutions will help you assess, execute, and manage your cloud initiatives, so you can improve your organization through big data analytics.
Whatever your needs, our Retail Networking Solutions are designed to lay a strong foundation for your future growth.
Build a network map to efficiently plan IT spending for new initiatives
Make your network IoT-ready
Build optimal branch networks
Enable WAN automation
Run DC-LAN assessments for better security
Increase your network availability and reliability by more than 50% with intent-based networking (IBN)
cLick here
The projected spend on AI by retailers in 2025
$10 billion
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www.connection.com/retail
or call 1.800.998.0001
(Omdia, "Artificial Intelligence Software Market Forecasts 2H20 Analysis", 2020)
