Retail Companies: 4 Technologies You Didn’t Know You Needed

Technology has paved the way for more streamline shopping experiences all over the world. Today’s retail market is all about convenience, efficiency and speed, and technology integration is arguably the only way for businesses to meet this demand.

According to Statista Statistics Portal, in 2016 an impressive 1.61 billion people worldwide purchased goods online, amounting to 1.9 trillion US dollars. Needless to say, if business-owners want to keep up with the ever-changing world of business, it’s important that they embrace new technology and find new ways to integrate.

However, in the era of robots and drone delivery, how do retail companies sift through these continuous innovations to find what they truly need? Here are four technologies that could improve your retail business.

Payment Gateway

A payment gateway is the e-commerce service that accepts or declines credit card payments from the customer to the merchant by sharing information with the issuer bank. In short, the gateway transfers information between payment portals using encrypted technology to ensure the customer is making a legitimate transaction.

Using a payment gateway lessens the frequency of credit card fraud and secures customer data, so it’s a good idea to have one on your selling site. It requires very little maintenance, and most online shoppers are familiar with the technology. Any company looking to expand their customer base should consider an international payment gateway to make payments secure across all channels.

Digital Payment Forms

If your business is not yet accepting Apple Pay and Google Wallet, you could be missing a trick. According to studies undertaken by Statista, in-person mobile payments in the US alone are projected to reach $23.47 billion by 2018. Accepting digital forms of payments allows for a more streamlined checkout process for both you and your customers. Not only do digital payment forms make transactions faster and more straightforward, but by embracing this new technology, your business will appear forward thinking and on-trend, and you will attract more customers.

Online Customer Service

Whether you opt for online support as your primary method of customer service, or you use it to take the weight off your telephone operatives, live chat software could be an excellent solution for your business. It allows you to provide instant support to customers online and can even drive more sales your way.

Put it this way: if you were a customer looking for a specific product you couldn’t find on a webpage, would you rather pick up the phone and wait on hold indefinitely, or speak to someone straight away using chat on your smartphone? The reality is, if your business doesn’t keep up with the evolving business landscape, your customers may choose to shop elsewhere.

Wireless Meeting Rooms

Most retail businesses have meetings where they come together to discuss the company’s progress. However, dealing with clunky equipment, an unstable Internet connection, and complex wiring can disrupt the flow of meetings and conferences and make them more time-consuming. You may already be using Apple’s Airplay or Google Chromecast, but if your business is expanding, then you may need a more robust solution such as VIA Kramer.

To keep up with the changing times and enhance your team’s productivity, it makes sense to embrace all that technology has to offer your business – whether that’s going wireless, providing online customer service, or revolutionising your everyday transactions.