Take a look at the changes that could be felt in the retail business over the next 10 years.
It's well known that consumer behaviour and shopping methods have been changing. But have you ever wondered what the retail sector will be like in 10 years' time? If you're not yet aware of the main trends in the business market over the next few years, find out about them now!
Business combined with new technologies
It is important how new technologies are revolutionising the customer experience, because this paradigm is already part of our present and will intensify in the future.
The globalisation of economic activities, market regulation, the digital paradigm and e-commerce are other factors that have been changing companies.
Shopping is becoming more and more digital payment methods are getting simplerThe use of Artificial Intelligence has increased in order to facilitate and automate processes such as stock management, the study of customer consumption patterns or financial forecasts through "Big Data".
You can opt for more basic solutions, but they will make all the difference to the consumer, such as offering Wi-Fi inside your establishment or making tablets available at the service counters to carry out customer satisfaction surveys.
Cash in hand is not a problem
Not having cash in your wallet is no longer a problem. It is expected that, in the future, almost all payments will be made by card only, via smartphone or online.
In fact, there are many examples of this today, including transport companies that allow cards to be scanned to make payments.
If you have foreign customers, make sure your POS has DCC - Dynamic Currency Conversion -a solution offered by REDUNIQ, which consists of paying with your customer's currency of origin. How does it work? Firstly, the POS automatically recognises whether the card is issued in one of the convertible currencies. Then, if the payment is eligible for DCC, the amount is displayed on the POS in the currency of origin and in euros, and the transaction is carried out in the currency of the customer's choice, and they receive an additional amount for that purchase!
Technology Contactless is another increasingly present trend. In 2018, there were more than 35 million Contactless transactions. With a Contactless card, your customer can make payments of up to 20 euros without having to enter their card's PIN, simply by touching it to the card. TPA and payment is made, being a payment method that fulfils all the security criteria of international payment systems and acts over the traditional Chip and PIN method.
REDUNIQ has more than 96,000 terminals with active Contactless technology, which cuts transaction times by about half, reduces cash handling costs and avoids queues.
As far as online purchases and payments are concerned, according to INE - Instituto Nacional de Estatística, in 2018 around 37% of Portuguese between the ages of 16 and 74 made online purchases, using the smartphone or a computer. These results show an increase of three percentage points compared to 2017.
The focus must be on the customer
The future essentially involves making the shopping experience more customer-centred, transparent, appealing and simplified. Everything that is developed in a business must be thought of from the customer's point of view.
Some companies have even adopted a technological trend called "chatbot", which helps customers during the purchasing process in an online shop. Anything that facilitates a customer's purchasing process is half a step towards being at the forefront.
These were some of the topics discussed at the 3rd Distribution Forum in PortugalThe theme of the event was "Retail 20-30", at which REDUNIQ was present, speaking above all about the impact of new technologies on retail.
This future is not as far away as it seems. Bet on innovation and take advantage of the best that technology has to offer companies.
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