Gone are the days you’d spend hours at the mall looking for the perfect wedding gift only to wait in line for ages to check out and pay. More and more consumers are looking at technology to ease their purchasing woes.

The future of shopping is expected to grow in leaps and bounds in the coming years as technology continues to evolve at a fast pace. We see the death of brick-and-mortar stores as e-commerce takes the lead. Customer experience is quick, seamless and convenient.

Nowadays, with a tap on your Smartphone, you can access thousands of items from a wide range of retailers and have it delivered to your doorstep. With some price comparison websites, you can visit multiple stores and pick the ideal item. All while sipping your cup of Joe in your pyjamas.

Disruption in the tech sector will change the way you shop. Most traditional physical stores are barely surviving the digital onslaught. Digitization is blowing like an incessant wind in the shopping sector. For the best products for all your needs check out https://www.bestreviews.guide/

What the next generation should expect:

Online shopping is the norm nowadays, and very few people are trickling into stores to buy products. Today’s shoppers are savvy and virtual. How technology will influence both online and retail shopping and the potential of blockchain and AI when it comes to shopping, is a must-experience. Let’s peek into the future. Shall we?

Virtual Shopping

Ditch the stores and grab the headsets. Virtual reality is setting sail, and you don’t want to miss out on the fun. Virtual reality technology is taking your shopping experience to another level.

How does taking a 3-D selfie of yourself using your Smartphone sound? Or trying out different outfits in VR? Or maybe visiting a virtual shop with your virtual assistants to help you choose what to buy? Brands like Amazon launched VR kiosks in India’s shopping malls. Swarovski and Mastercard teamed up to open a new home decor items section via a VR app. Tommy Hilfiger enhances its customers experience with VR runway shows while IKEA lets its customers design their ideal kitchen in VR before installing it.

However, VR faces a couple of hurdles. The technology is clunky from a user’s perspective, and the field of view is still not excellent. There is a lot of hardware, but if the headaches are erased, consumers will embrace VR fully.

Enter A-Commerce

Before Pokeman Go, no one could predict the potential of Augmented Reality. But with AR sweeping through the tech world, more and more businesses are embracing this futuristic technology.

One of the sectors where augmented reality is creating a disruptive impact is eCommerce. Online shopping has been on the rise for the last two decades, offering consumers a seamless, quick and convenient shopping experience.

One migraine that consumers face with online shopping is determining if a product is the right fit. Augmented reality is a boon to consumerism as it fills this gap. AR brings realism to your shopping experience and allows you to play around with items that were mere still photos in eCommerce. This transforms eCommerce to a-commerce.

Some brands that have adopted e-commerce to enhance customer shopping experience include; Amazon’s AR view feature. Clients can see how a given item will look in their workspace before ordering it.

Sephora has an app which uses ModiFace Technology. It allows its customers to take a selfie and apply cosmetic products to narrow their shopping choices — having a hard time finding the perfect sunglasses?  Try Rayban’s new app “Virtual Try-On” that lets you try different sunglasses before picking the right one — no more wasting hours trying different pairs of sunglasses in front of a mirror.

AI shopping

Running out of home staples such as milk, groceries or breakfast cereals will be a thing of the past. AI (Artificial Intelligence) is about to go to turbo drive and change consumer shopping habits in the coming years.

AI will recognize when your pantry is running low, order and restock your items. The items will ebe delivered to your doorstep, all without having to leave your home. You’ll dedicate your boring shopping needs to intelligent AI bots.

Many eCommerce stores are embracing A.I to understand their customers’ needs, generate leads and provide their customers with a convenient experience. Most stores are embracing “conversational commerce” where AI blends with “chatbots” to drive sales.

Chatbots provide a viable customer support solution. Virtual assistants like Siri, Alexa and Google Now can help you discover a new product launch. Virtual personal shoppers like Amazon’s Mona gives you the most relevant product deals tailored to your needs.

Encounter A.I created Mai in 2018, an advanced retail assistant for restaurants and retailers and to help the blind to simplify ordering. The voice-enabled ordering assistant helps individuals transact in on-premise stores, especially those with visual impairment.

Automated retail- scan-and-go stores

Do you recall picking that can of coke or a pack of biscuits from a vending machine when you were young and even now? Automated retail is not a new technology, but we expect it to change the dynamics of shopping in a few years to come.

Amazon Go has embraced this trend. You can walk into a store, pick the product you want to buy and walk out without any interactions with staff. And on checkout be automatically charged for your purchases.

Automated retail is a vast area and covers unmanned kiosks, vending machines and unattended grocery stores. It provides a broad scope of innovation for the future customer. According to PYMNTS.com, the interactive kiosk in the US is expected to hit more than 1 billion in 2020. And the automated kiosk market will be worth $34 billion in 2023 according to Research and Markets.

We are looking forward to the futuristic shopping experience with no cashiers where consumers experience self-checkout.

Conclusion:

In a highly competitive environment, innovation is king to stay afloat. With changing consumer habits, technologists are finding creative and exciting ways of making your shopping experience fun, exciting and hassle-free. The future of shopping is looking bright, and we are looking forward to the futuristic experiences in our shopping sprees.

Helpful Resources:

1. 16 Best (free) AMP – (Accelerated Mobile Pages) WordPress Plugins in [2019]

2. Do Human Translators Have a Reason to Be Afraid of Advancing Technologies

3. Artificial Intelligence And Its Demands To The Programmers

4. The Future Of Furniture Shopping: Augmented Reality Apps

5. How Augmented Reality Will Change The Future Of Design Industry In [2019]