Touchless retail is a trend permeating many regards in today’s shopping culture. The pandemic accelerated the trend and Contactless is now the new Common.
As mentioned in our previous blog, the holiday 2020 is all poised to bring a high growth impact to eCommerce businesses. The share of Digital shopping vis-a-vis in-store shopping is rapidly increasing in the retail industry. The boost we witnessed in digital transactions due to the pandemic are gradually changing the way people shop. It won’t be wrong if we say that COVID-19 drastically increased digital commerce by tenfold.
Online shopping has always been popular among the millennial generation, and now, Gen-Z is taking it a step further with the surfacing social media and Google shops. Before we move towards the overview, let us understand touchless retail a bit.
What is Touchless Retail?
“In the simplest form of it, touchless retail can be defined as negligent to zero human intervention across end-to-end customer buying processes.”
From product browsing, virtual try-outs, payment, shipping, and doorstep delivery – touchless retail is all about eliminating human touchpoints in the consumer buying journey. Social distancing is the new normal, and so are contactless shopping habits. Frictionless commerce, yet another name for touchless retail, became a priority for people amidst the pandemic. Even from the people who prefer in-store shopping, about 87% of them chose touchless, self-checkout options to buy.
Touchless retail is more than mere online shopping.
Automated shopping and shipping facilities, AI-based product suggestions, self-checkout points, drop-off, and pickup stations to prevent human contact, digital payment options, virtual try-outs, contactless delivery tech, and the list goes on and on. It is not justified to sum up touchless commerce as just online shopping facilities. The post-pandemic world is opting for touchless retail as not only a safety measure but also as a convenience. On that note, let us understand why touchless retail will gain traction in the recent and future times.
Why Touchless Retail is the Future of Shopping?
- Shoppers are more aware of safety than ever, and they will look for options that actively follow all the hygiene measures.
- Though online shopping is popular, people with significant in-store buying inclination will always be there. Who will still want to utilize touchless technology via contactless access points.
- Touchless payment modes can speed up the purchase process, and the same technology can encourage them to sign-up for loyalty programs to eventually boost subscription commerce in an efficient way.
- Curbside pickups and doorstep deliveries are newfound shopping preferences. These trends are here to stay.
- Digital means are more secure, convenient, and quick and post-pandemic; there will be people who will continue shopping online for all the benefits it has to offer.
- With the staggering use of smartphones and tablets, Voice search in eCommerce is yet another blooming concept. People will ask their digital assistants to search for the best suitable product recommendations, and that is where touchless shopping again comes into the picture.
- Certain buyers might want to avoid touching the products and opt for searching through their in-store kiosks.
- Consumer preferences are changing, and they are more digital than ever. To cope with the increasing demand, store owners need to implement an eCommerce first strategy to survive and thrive.
- Eliminating human intervention may also increase productivity for retailers. Automated processes streamline the workflow.
- ‘Unmanned’ stores are the new cool, and people rely on technology to get things done faster. Though the implementation demands research and investment, there will come a time when contactless shopping will rule the world.
All in all, there are numerous benefits for both the retailers and consumers when they get their hands on frictionless commerce. Digital transformation is the future, and so is contactless business.
The Aspects of Touchless Retail
As mentioned above, it will do injustice to the term frictionless commerce if we just include online shopping into it. There are:
- Virtual product displays
- Surreal try-outs
- Automated inventory management
- Automated supply chains
- Personalization and AI-tools for better CX
- Tech algorithms for UI and UX
- Omnichannel marketing for all-around promotions
- Digital payment getaways
- Touchless shipping services
- Contactless delivery (e.g., drones)
- Pickup and drop-off points for no-contact and fast delivery
- Auto-generated return and exchange receipts
- Reward and loyalty programs based on past purchases
- Point redemption systems for better subscription commerce
There are still points that we can consider in touchless retail. But majorly, contactless product display, purchase, payment, and delivery models are the few widely accepted and implemented areas. In the upcoming series of blogs, we are going to discuss these in detail with a detailed description of how they are driving the touchless retail bandwagon.
Brands that are currently embracing Touchless Retail
The root-source for robust touchless retails is China, as Chinese consumers are well-known for the rapid adoption of the new digital technologies. But, the concept is now widespread across the globe for many brands to acquire the facility. Here are a few examples.
1. Decathlon
Just as we talked about product display kiosks, post-pandemic, Decathlon made its stores operate as such kiosks where people can look and feel the products before buying. When they finalize their choices, the checkout process takes place over their application.
2. Huda Beauty
Huda Beauty, a well-known cosmetic supplier brand, launched its very first pop-up store in London, long before the pandemic hit. Many small and large beauty retailers are also following the footsteps by opening up such stores to encourage touchless shopping.
3. Starbucks
Curbside pickup has become the new drive-through for many food and beverage firms. Starbucks has always led the initiative by offering contactless curbside pickups to its consumers.
Apart from that, Walmart also offered contactless, quick doorstep grocery deliveries in select locations. This rapid adaptation of the technology proves that today’s retailers and consumers won’t hesitate to try new things if it brings convenience to them.
Concluding Lines
Touchless commerce is the new way of shopping and people are more than willing to take advantage of it. In the coming blogs, we will take up different aspects of frictionless commerce and discuss their implementation.
Till then, if you are intrigued by how contactless is becoming the new normal and want help with touchless retail for your business, we are here to help. Be it a website conceptualization, modifications, or custom webpage and feature optimization, our tailored eCommerce development services will suit your needs. Get in touch.
Table of Content
- Touchless retail is a trend permeating many regards in today’s shopping culture. The pandemic accelerated the trend and Contactless is now the new Common.
- What is Touchless Retail?
- Touchless retail is more than mere online shopping.
- Why Touchless Retail is the Future of Shopping?
- The Aspects of Touchless Retail
- Brands that are currently embracing Touchless Retail
- Concluding Lines
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Minal Joshi is a content marketer at Krish with a flair for eCommerce and Digital Commerce aspects. She is a MarTech fanatic with a knack of writing with which, she helps brands to curate, create, & commence digital brand positioning. Sharing insights via articles, case studies, eBooks, Infographics, and other forms of content creation is what she lives for. Being an ardent traveler, when not writing, you'll find her sipping coffee into the mountains or petting a stray.
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