I work with retailers that spend a lot of time thinking about all of the emerging technology and how it will affect them. They look at the brand, they look at their customers, and they say, “Where am I today and is everything where it should be?” Some will say that they’ve figured this out and that’s great.

Where we see the worry and concern is when a retailer considers what’s going to happen in five years, 10 years, or 15 years down the road when the younger generation might move into their demographic. Maybe their customer’s have not yet jumped on the bandwagon and they have some time to figure things out.  Maybe their customers are right on the cutting edge and they need to adapt now.  How is that going to affect their operations and do they know what they expect? And with all these options out there, what kind of competing forces are affecting the way they are set up to interact with their customers?

Technology trends relative to mobile devices, tablets and social media are becoming more and more mainstream today. There is a lot of hype and excitement surrounding these technologies.  I would suggest that these technologies have a place only if they enhance the company’s brand through a better customer experience.

Take mobility as an example.  Every retailer is very different. The customer interaction with high-end fashion is much different than someone who’s going to walk into a convenience
store.  So you have to make sure you understand the customer experience you want to ensure takes place. If you’re in high-end fashion, for example, you may not want your associate walking around with five different devices and printers on belts and things like that – just to have a mobile workforce. But if you’re selling complex products and you want to make sure that your workforce has the latest information, then maybe a simple tablet device is something they should walk around with. It’s mainly about the customer experience and making sure that whatever you do with mobility, it augments or enhances that experience rather than takes away from it.

There are so many new and exciting technology answers for retailers that will help provide exceptional solutions.  Measure them against how you can make the
customer experience better.