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Adaptive technology for adaptive retail
Equip yourself with the hardware you need to deliver an individualised experience
March 1, 2023
Ensure you take good care of the ultimate authority in retail - the customer
How can adaptive retail give you a competitive edge?
The Element Tanso equips you with the technological power to augment the retail experience
In the world of retail, the customer is all-powerful -- so in such an uncertain and fraught economic climate, with sky-high costs of living, it’s more important than ever to entice return business. One solution is for retailers to adapt to the changing face of customer expectations, and deliver a uniquely personalised experience. There is simply no space for a second-rate customer journey. And in today’s reality, that means the interaction points between consumers and technology must be meaningful, effortless and rewarding.
Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart, once delivered a powerful training program for employees which centred around ‘the customer who never returns’, as a model for what not to do in retail. Although this training was initiated years ago, its message is all the more incisive today in an age when the retail landscape is saturated with data and metrics on consumer behaviour. Sam was quoted as saying, “There is only one boss: the customer. And they can fire everyone in the company, from the president to the janitor, simply by taking their money to spend elsewhere.”
Adapt and conquer
What does adaptive retailing actually mean, and how can it be harnessed to ensure the customer does not spend their money elsewhere? As a high-level management practice, it is all about adapting your business approach to impress your customers like never before, drawing on data you have gathered about their shopping patterns, their likes and dislikes. Adaptive retail means communicating with your customers and using channels such as social media to develop meaningful relationships, instead of taking a one-size-fits-all approach.
As the authority in conducting your business, it is imperative to implement ways of offering a service that combines the benefits of online shopping with the advantages of in-person sales. When the store’s counter can be like the Great Wall of Retail that creates a barrier between staff and customers, mobile technology can break through this barrier and allow one-on-one attention that doesn’t sacrifice access to your POS system.
Corporate brands make huge investments into training their staff to deliver outstanding service. But to really derive a competitive edge from this, staff need to be equipped with adaptive technology that helps them facilitate a new kind of in-store experience.
At the level of customer interaction in a retail setting, adaptive retail is all about providing a flexible shopping experience on the fly, responding to the customer’s needs but also anticipating unspoken opportunities. With so many shopping-related channels available -- from the online marketplace to the prolific availability of reviews -- customers are building a personal ecosystem of preferences around how they spend their money.
To lavish your customers with attention they will find irresistible, and make them excited about returning to your store, retailers need to adapt to a new norm for consumers: accessing ‘everything, everywhere, all at once’. What this can look like in practice is using technology to showcase related items for a shopper, such as accessories or different products of the same class. This gives them a wider variety of choices and puts the key perks of an online experience right at their fingertips, ensuring an inspirational in-store journey.
Technological enhancement
The Element Tanso is an ultra-slimline tablet designed to facilitate adaptive retailing. It frees sales staff from behind the Great Wall of Retail and arms them with the information they need to better understand each customer. And what better way to attract glowing approval from the boss that the customer represents, than by augmenting their journey through your store with the feature-rich power of online sales?
Element Tanso 10" POS Tablet
Element’s ethos of design, quality and purpose is epitomised in our approach to creating adaptive technology that provides a uniquely dynamic customer experience. We can help you enhance both the staff journey and the services your salespeople can offer customers, supercharging their in-store interaction with the ability to be ‘everything, everywhere, all at once’. Contact Sektor today to learn how Element can empower your business to thrive like never before by embracing adaptive retail principles.
