Expect a frictionless retail overhaul in 2020, Aptos

Retailers will introduce meaningful friction to shopping journeys in 2020, according to Nikki Baird, VP Retail Innovation at Aptos.

In recent years, there has been a noticeable split in the market, she observes. Retailers either win on convenience or win by differentiation and delight. In the pursuit of the former, there’s been no shortage of technology investment, from cashierless stores to delivery robots.

Yet it is debatable if these investments really capture the hearts, minds and, more importantly, wallets of the consumers. As a result, in 2020 we’ll see more retailers focus on what it takes to “delight” the shopper – and it will require a clear shift away from previous attempts at convenient or “frictionless” retail.

“The thing with delighting customers is that you have to introduce some friction, at least at the beginning of the shopping journey,” Baird says. “This meaningful or deliberate friction will serve as a way to break consumers out of the “autopilot” and mindlessness that comes with extreme convenience, even if it’s as simple as a Konmari checklist or another resource that encourages the shopper to stop and ask, “How will this purchase improve my life? Will this item bring me joy?”

If retailers want consumers to feel really good about their purchases – and longer term, about their relationship with the brand or retailer – meaningful friction should be added to the purchase journey to trigger conscious consumption, and as a result, delight, Baird adds.

“Retailers aren’t going to win by getting consumers to buy a lot of stuff they then feel bad about. That might work in the short-term, but in the long-term, retailers who help consumers be more considerate in their purchases will win long-term loyalty,” she comments.

“While meaningful friction has benefits early in the shopping process, once consumers decide to buy, then purchase and fulfilment should be as seamless as possible.”

5G

Consumers will this year start to feel the impact of 5G, Baird reckons.

“5G’s implementation is progressing at different rates in different countries, but it is increasingly available both as a network and through devices capable of accessing that network. The technology companies investing in 5G have tried to show the market just how much of an impact 5G will have on lives, but analogies just haven’t done the job.”

It will change the way consumers consume information, by making far more information (like sensor-driven data) available at much higher speeds. Just writing about it doesn’t do it justice. Retailers will also feel the impact, both in terms of how consumer behaviour changes and in terms of how their own business operations may change.

“In-store technology, public Wi-Fi, consumer-retailer interactions both in stores and on the go … we’ve only been speculating so far. In 2020, we won’t have to speculate any longer, as we’ll start to see the impact directly. And there will definitely be an impact,” Baird concludes.