Connected Commerce: Meeting The Modern Consumer Where They Are 

02.13.2023 Articles
By Sargena Narsa, PR & Communications Content Specialist

As technology evolves, brands must adopt omnichannel strategies to meet the demands of their customers. Connected Commerce includes integrating online and in-store experiences that provide consumers with a seamless and immersive shopping experience. By offering a variety of purchase, pick-up, and delivery options, brands can differentiate themselves and expand their business within the highly competitive market. To provide consumers with an exceptional and consistent shopping experience, brands must provide an integration of online and in-store experiences that allows customers to shop their own way.  

BOPIS 

63% of Consumers Expect Purchases to Be Shipped Within Three Days.

Buy Online, Pick Up In Store (BOPIS), one of the most popular omnichannel sales strategies, is revolutionizing the customer experience. During the pandemic, retailers began offering customers the convenience of purchasing products online and picking them up at their local store or curbside. With that being said, consumer expectations, shopping habits, and demands have shifted. Consumers expect faster shipping times and easy accessibility to brands and products, which alters the way they research, shop, and access brands. Brands must meet these expectations to win over the evolving consumer. 

Skip The Line 

Retail and grocery stores recently introduced cashier-less checkout systems to make shopping faster and easier than ever before. The revolutionary cloud-based technology, “Just Walk Out,” monitors a consumer’s shopping experience by automatically detecting which products are removed from a shelf and placed into a shopping cart. With automated digital receipts and the ability to charge accounts automatically, retailers utilizing this technology will unlock the potential to reach more consumers. 

Personalized AI-Powered Shopping Experiences

It’s all about personalization. Shoppers want to see products and campaigns that are interesting to them and meet their needs. To make the experience even more personalized, stores can analyze consumer data, including traffic, dwell time, and demographics. With the latest AI technologies, brands have the opportunity to retrieve more information about their shoppers. They can analyze their shopping habits, product preferences, and personal needs. Enhance the shopping experience with AI-powered products. Whether consumers are shopping from their phone or in store, there’s an opportunity to tap into their habits and build loyalty.

Meet The Modern Consumer 

Take your digital selling to the next level with social media. With the constant growth of social media channels, the way customers discover brands and purchase products has changed for the long haul. Social media is an effective sales tool – especially for brands aiming for Gen Zers and Millennials. With customers seeking convenience and accessibility, brands must be where their customers are. Social media selling offers brands the chance to reach, interact with, and excite their customers – wherever they are. Shopping on mobile is the new normal, and it’s easy to see why! From placing orders and checking inventory, to taking advantage of promotions and coupons, apps make it easy to save time, effort, and money. With smartphones in hand, shoppers can shop anywhere, anytime – and enjoy the convenience of having their needs taken care of quickly and easily. 

Connected Commerce

42% of Consumers Use Multiple Channels During Their Shopping Journey.

Omnichannel retail strategies are constantly evolving. The goal of Connected Commerce is for brands to meet their customers’ demands – and make shopping easy and accessible for their target audience’s shopping preferences. The key is to analyze and understand your customers and incorporate solutions into your retail strategy that will be the most effective for them. BDS offers retail, experiential, digital, and virtual selling solutions. Meet your shoppers’ demands by incorporating our future-proof solutions into your retail and sales strategies.

Want to learn more about Connected Commerce and the brands that are changing the retail game? Read our article, “Six Innovative Examples of Connected Commerce In Real Life,” : Six Innovative Examples Of Connected Commerce In Real Life | BDS Connected Solutions For Retail Marketing (bdssolutions.com)