5 trends helping holiday retailers win customers’ hearts and wallets

After years of warnings about the demise of retail, there’s one thing we now know for certain: rumors of the sector’s death were greatly exaggerated. Analysts predict this will be the first-ever $1 trillion shopping season[1], with new technologies helping retailers turn shopping lists into shopping experiences.

1. Transactions are everywhere

A centralized point of sale (POS) is oxymoronic in a world in which nearly every shopper has a smartphone, and by extension, a cash register in their pocket. Enter a radical new approach: ubiquitous points of purchase (POP). Innovative retailers encourage shoppers to take advantage of technologies to jump the line or make purchases autonomously, such as at digital-only express kiosks, in-store pick-up for online purchases, and other time-saving conveniences. Retailers are recognizing that saving consumers time can often be just as valuable as coupons.

New technologies can also clue retailers in to cues customers are sending about their preferences that empower sales associates to focus on customers rather than on the transaction-focused checkout line.

 

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