The retail evolution continues, and there are no signs that it will slow down anytime soon. Since consumers gained the ability to shop online and on their smartphones, they have increasingly expected enhanced customer experiences and customer service from retailers on every channel, creating retail problems and challenges. As technology advances to address these retail problems, and retailers begin to implement new technologies, your retailer clients can be overwhelmed with decisions about whether to follow suit, go a different direction, or wait.

They Need You

We heard this message loud and clear at Retail Solutions Providers Association (RSPA) RetailNOW this month. Retailers are experts in how to sell their merchandise — they aren’t experts in retail technology. They need retail technology experts to partner with them and help them make sound business decisions when it comes to technology.

Here are five retail problems speakers at RetailNOW discussed, which also represent opportunities for technology providers to solidify the role of trusted advisor and expand their businesses by providing new solutions:

1. Shoppers Expect Sales Associates to Use Mobile Devices in Stores. Help your retailer clients access the information shoppers need by arming them with mobile devices. Tablets and other handheld devices also give sales associates access to customers’ shopping and online browsing histories, which can help them engage shoppers and make or increase sales. Offering or partnering to provide secure Wi-Fi networks is another way you can help retailers with their mobile strategy — as well as boost your business.
2. Shoppers Are Starting to Use their Phones to Pay. Apple Pay, Android Pay, other mobile wallets, and in-app payment options are starting to catch on among consumers. Retailers have questions about which mobile payment technologies to invest in and whether it’s better to wait or act now. Mobile payment security is another area where retailers have a lot of questions. Provide the answers — and the solutions.
3. Shoppers Are Starting to Prefer Coupons Sent to Their Smartphones. Studies are revealing that shoppers would prefer coupons sent directly to their phones, instead of having to clip them from paper and remember to bring them to the store. Talk to your retailer clients about their objectives — do they want to send offers via text or email? Will they push them through Wi-Fi or beacons when a shopper returns to the store? Craft a solution that will deliver what they need.
4. Shoppers Want Personalized Offers. Retailers collect massive amounts of data, and customer data can be used to provide personalized, relevant offers for each of them. Provide data collection and data analysis solutions to help your retailer clients meet this customer demand.
5. Shoppers Start Shopping On One Channel and Complete the Sale on Another. Shoppers don’t look at a retailer’s channels individually. To them it’s all one big store. If they research an item online and it’s supposed to be available in the store, they expect it to be there. Buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS) is growing in popularity. If they see an item in a brick-and-mortar store and decide later they want to order it, they should be able to find it online. Help your retailer clients connect eCommerce and in-store POS with inventory management and all other systems essential to make omnichannel retail work.

And the List Goes On

When you talk to retailers, you will discover many more pain points and hurdles to accomplishing their objectives. In listening to retail problems, you will find even more opportunities to sell solutions or define areas into which your business could expand.

Remember, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. In addition to confirming that retailers need the help of technology providers, RetailNOW also showed us that there are many solutions designed to address these new retail problems — and potential partnerships are everywhere.

If the partnership you need is one that can help you market the solutions you provide to address retail problems and challenges, The SkyRocket Group is ready to help.