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The pandemic pummelled many sectors, but retailers have clawed their way back up from the canvas, renewed and even repurposed.
Online shopping has boomed, with customers now well accustomed to the greater choice, convenience and value that it can afford. But shoppers haven’t abandoned the in-store experience completely. If anything, they expect more from the high street than ever.
The blurring of lines between e-commerce and in-store shopping means consumers expect the full omnichannel experience. Shops must seamlessly facilitate click-and-collect services, returns or exchanges of items bought online – even ‘dark stores’, whereby traditional shop spaces are reallocated to process and fulfil online orders. All this alongside payment innovations such as contactless and digital wallets, QR codes and apps, scanning your own shopping at a self-checkout and personalised loyalty schemes.
And this is just the start of how retail is being revolutionised. Stay-ahead retailers are innovating to offer extra services that put the customer first, from video chats with in-store sales staff to assist when purchasing at home, to the use of clever camera technology to augment reality so customers can see how an item of furniture would look in their own living room.
Download The Future of Retail whitepaper to understand the opportunities and challenges facing the sector and how Elavon’s advanced payments technology means that even when your doors are closed, you’ll always be open for business.
Elavon Financial Services DAC, trading as Elavon Merchant Services, is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
Elavon Financial Services DAC, trading as Elavon Merchant Services, is deemed authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Details of the Temporary Permissions Regime, which allows EEA-based firms to operate in the UK for a limited period while seeking full authorisation, are available on the Financial Conduct Authority’s website.
