Emerging Retail Technology Trends for 2022

A day may come when we stop writing about digital transformation as an ongoing concern, but it is not this day.

The global COVID-19 crisis certainly shifted the focus of digital transformation as brands around the world turned their attention away from technologically driven customer experiences to ensuring the survival of their business by facilitating working from home or making products available online.

However, now the worst days of the pandemic seem to be behind us, the time has come to renew our focus and get back on track with the digital transformation strategies we were working on before the apocalypse.

With that in mind let’s catch up with the state of play and look at the top emerging – or in some cases re-emerging – retail technology trends in 2022.

QR Codes

Speaking of re-emerging technology trends, the QR code may be old news at this point but found a new lease of life because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While social distancing rules were in place, QR codes provided an elegant method of accessing product information without the need to handle physical materials – such as menus or catalogues – and thereby reducing the chances of COVID transmission between customers and staff.

QR codes have found many uses beyond this, however. Codes placed on shelving can allow in-store shoppers to complete purchases on their smartphones and create a cashierless store experience. QR Codes on paper receipts can encourage customers to leave reviews on Google, TripAdvisor, etc. or fill out a survey. Codes in your shop window can create an interactive browsing experience which can increase brand engagement – even when the store is closed.

RFID

As the technology which makes cashierless stores such as Amazon Go possible, we can expect to see RFID make a big splash in the retail world moving forwards.

At its core, RFID technology makes managing inventory a breeze and can almost completely eliminate the need for manual stock takes altogether. Tiny chips contained within product packaging can automatically adjust stock levels as items are removed from the store. Alerts can even be set up so stock replenishment orders can be automatically placed when levels reach a predetermined threshold.

In short, RFID technology streamlines inventory processes and provides new levels of accuracy while doing so.

Experiential Tech

Gone are the days when retailers competed on product and price alone. Today’s customer is drawn to a brand by, not only those factors, but also periphery concerns such as customer service, accessibility, ease of use, knowledgeability of sales staff and even the décor of retail outlets or the design of ecommerce sites.

The ability to provide customers with an experience rather than a simple transaction is one of the key brand differentiators in 2022.

From the perspective of technology, this means having the innovations in place to effectively track and measure these experiences and therefore optimize their impact. We all know that ecommerce customers love getting a personalized service, so why not equip staff at a brick-and-mortar store with digital devices which can give them access to a customer’s shopping history and allow them to provide a similar experience in person?

Autonomous Delivery

It seems like ages since Amazon first trialed its Prime Air drone delivery service over in the UK. The ability to land a product on the customer’s doorstep within 30 minutes of placing the order is a lofty goal, and we are likely to see even more experiments with autonomous vehicles as we move through this year.

Dominos in New Zealand has been trialing pizza delivery via a ground based autonomous vehicle and PepsiCo has been deploying a similar device to create a mobile snack dispensary and Californian universities.

We are even seeing some supermarkets using full-sized self-driving vehicles to deliver groceries to their customers, with Walmart piloting a fully driverless (other attempts have had a safety driver ride along in case of emergency) grocery delivery service in November 2021.

"We’ve identified that autonomous box trucks offer an efficient, safe and sustainable solution for transporting goods on repeatable routes between our stores," said Senior Vice President of Last Mile at Walmart US, Tom Ward. "We’re thrilled to be working with Gatik to achieve this industry-first, driverless milestone in our home state of Arkansas and look forward to continuing to use this technology to serve Walmart customers with speed."

Final Thoughts

Technology holds the key for retailers in both the ecommerce and omnichannel spaces to supercharge their offering and create incredible new experiences for their customers. Whether it’s better and more accurate stock management or innovative new methods of home delivery, these trends are going to be ones to watch over the coming year.

Emerging technology trends are set to be part of the conversation at eTail Canada 2022, taking place in September, at the Hyatt Regency Toronto, ON.

Download the agenda today for more information and insights.