5 ways to embrace the future of tech and boost sales
Technology has changed the way we live.
And that is particularly evident in the way we shop.
While brick and mortar sales continue to grow—as we spend ever more money—their growth lags behind ecommerce.
The COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbated that divide, causing a significant spike in ecommerce growth as a proportion of total retail sales.
And that growth was delivered on the back of new and emerging technologies.
From faster buying processes to drone deliveries, retail looks very different to 10 or 20 years ago.
The companies that embrace the next wave of changes and improvements stand the best chance of succeeding in 2026 and beyond.
Map from current capabilities to ideal state
Before we dive into what technology you should be looking to bring into your retail business, it’s important that the first step of the process is understanding exactly where you stand right now.
That means taking the time to assess your existing infrastructure and processes, identifying areas where improvements could make the biggest difference. That will help you to build a roadmap charting what you need to implement to get from where you are now to where you want to be.
That plan will inform what technology you choose to invest in, and how you integrate it into the smooth running of your day to day operations. With that in mind, we’ve highlighted some areas below where many retail businesses could embrace technology and see real benefits.
POS systems
Point of sale (POS) systems have come a long way since the days of bulky, fixed payment terminals. Today’s solutions are responsive, mobile-first bridges between your online and offline operations, all while linking into inventory management, personalisation, and more.
Ensuring that customer data is shared between all your touchpoints helps you to deliver a more complete retail experience to your customers, as well as fuelling data-driven insights which can inform your decision making process.
AR and VR
Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) represent ground-breaking ways to engage with customers and help them make the right decisions for them, and your business. The biggest retail application of these technologies has been revolutionising the way customers ‘try before they buy’.
By allowing prospective buyers to see what clothing would look like on them, or what furniture could match their existing decor, companies can deliver an unprecedented level of personalisation that can generate huge new interest and demand.
Mobile apps
While AR and VR are typically delivered through mobile apps, that’s far from all you can do with your own custom app. Whether it’s facilitating a faster and smoother ordering experience, delivering personalised offers, or racking up points to build customer loyalty, there are plenty of ways to enhance the experience on mobile.
Consider how your customers typically interact with your business and ask yourself whether there are ways to improve that experience. Remember that restaurants and coffee shops used to rely on taking orders from long queues of people before they started using apps that allowed customers to order directly to their tables.
Geofencing
Using customer location data to trigger offers when customers cross a virtual perimeter is another way to elevate their experience. Rarely has this technology been used more effectively than in Burger King’s famed Whopper Detour promotion.
By triggering offers for $0.01 burgers whenever a customer went within 600 feet of a McDonald’s restaurant, Burger King’s brazen tactics saw them steal consumers by the bucketload from their biggest rivals, generating plenty of buzz along the way.
While your business is unlikely to have the time and budget that Burger King did to pull off such an incredible feat, targeting over 14,000 McDonald’s restaurants across the US, finding similarly bold and innovative ideas can set your retail business apart in the war for attention.