i3 - January/February 2020 - 27

Amazon Echo, Google Home) as a trend or
challenge to watch closely. Two new consortiums of technology companies promise
to alleviate confusion for developers when
creating tools across the brand-owned
platforms as Voice use progresses.
Equally nascent, visual search at retail
is capturing interest as shoppers snap
photos or choose images to kickstart their
shopping process. A new breed of platforms lets consumers use their smartphone's camera to snap pictures, while
image recognition software delivers
search results in the form of similar items.
Computer vision identifies the images and
creates matches to shoppable items.
Retailers are busily uploading product
catalogs as images, digitizing them
through proprietary technology or thirdparty providers such as Slyce Interactive
to drive sales, particularly with digitally
native younger shoppers who are more
likely to transact on mobile.

USES OF
BIOMETRIC
FEEDBACK
Product Placement
Product Packaging
Display Signage
Website Design
Website Usability
Store Concepts
Product Satisfaction

THE STORE OF THE FUTURE
WILL BE DEFINED BY FOUR MAIN
CHARACTERISTICS

Experiential
Helping shoppers
connect with a
brand or retailer

Social
Helping shoppers
connect with
each other

Operational Excellence = Execute in a profitable and sustainable way
Frictionless
Aid the shopper
experience

Curated
Build a
differentiated
proposition

Source: Ascential Edge

C TA . t e c h / i 3

Google is a dominant player in visual
search with Google Images responsible
for 21% of image search, according to
Sparktoro research. Amazon is quickly
becoming a big competitor when it
comes to Search as more consumers
start looking for products there than a
traditional search engine. And visual
search can give the advantage to imageheavy social media platforms like
Instagram and Pinterest. Pinterest's
Lens function more accurately identifies items from a Pinned image and
makes those pins shoppable.
It's only a matter of time before purchasing what you see becomes
commonplace.

MEASURING HUMAN BEHAVIOR

Tools for measuring shopper engagement are also getting more granular.
Tracking eye-movement, facial reactions
and bodily responses like GSR give
researchers a look at customer engagement, retention and reaction to a wide
variety of questions. Eye tracking can be
done in the real world by asking consumers to wear special glasses while they
shop or in lab settings where consumers
use VR headsets to simulate real-world
shopping. Facial expressions like frowning or arched eyebrows can signify a
shopper's displeasure or surprise. As eye
tracking gear becomes more miniaturized, you'll see the technology become
more convenient and pervasive.
Location-based analytics have evolved
from geo-fencing to more refined spatial
identification inside stores pairing sensors
and shelf tags with mobile devices. As consumers increasingly download apps and
join retailers' loyalty programs, they have
opted into programs that shift tracking
from anonymous to identified. That's why
merchants such as Target and Nordstrom
have transitioned credit card-based loyalty
programs to the more structured closedloop Target Circle and Nordy Club programs accessible to a larger population.
Retail is changing to provide consumers
with a more customized experience wherever they shop.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020

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i3 - January/February 2020

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