April, 20218 IN MYV EWRETAIL TECHNOLOGY, NOWBY PAUL PRITCHARD, COO, OVERDOSE Retail technology has come a long way since the introduction of point of sale systems, ecommerce sites and mobile apps. What was once the exclusive realm of global brands and tech giants with big budgets and an appetite for innovation and risk, advances in cutting-edge retail technologies have never been more accessible and affordable for all merchants. Today, the ability to layer artificial intelligence to build more personalized customer interactions, use augmented reality to allow shoppers to try on a pair of shoes in their own home or build dynamic content and product marketing automation layers based on multiple data sources to close a sale, can be as easy as choosing a platform; paying a monthly license and integrating a line of code into your ecommerce store.To understand what's right for your business, let's look at 4 trends driving consumer purchases and loyalty and the technology that can help bridge the gap in expectations.The Personal Touch:With so many physical and digital touch points with a consumer creating a wealth of data, shoppers expect a much more personalized experience. This could be presenting recommended products most suited to that specific shopper; delivering relevant offers at the right time via email or paid media; or, structuring onsite branded content based on known customer segments.Nosto is an artificial intelligence (AI) driven personalization engine. Nosto follows browsers' actions to build up knowledge allowing the tool to deliver personalized product recommendations, dynamic content restructuring and, importantly, personalized product remarketing across facebook, instagram and email. This type of remarketing delivers a high return on ad spend and net new revenue. Making use of this type of technology unquestionably delivers higher conversion rates, more transactions and a positive impact on the bottom line.Physical to Digital:Selling products online, in particular clothing and footwear, can be challenging. Will the item look good on the customer, will it fit? Will that light shade or sofa suit their home?Advances in augmented reality, now baked into ecommerce platforms like Magento or Shopify Plus, allow merchants to showcase 3D versions of their products. Products can be viewable from all angles and are able to be projected into environments or on to consumers' bodies through mobile. New marketplace applications such as Wanna Kicks by Wannaby or The Iconic allow users to project a pair of sneakers on to their feet, walk around, capture images and video and seek opinions from friends before they buy.Transparency:Discerning consumers are showing more love for brands that stand for more than a product on promotion. Brands
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