Technology is everywhere these days, and consumers are increasingly using mobile devices while they shop to get better deals and interact with retailers.
An article in the New York Times highlights retailers who are determined to strengthen the link between physical stores and the Web, and to use technology to make shopping easier for consumers and more lucrative for themselves.
They discuss new cell phone apps that tell shoppers where certain items are located in the grocery store, have out-of-stock items shipped to shoppers homes, and give coupons based on what department a consumer happens to be in. Other opportunities include loyalty programs on cellphones instead of plastic cards, private label product recommendations, and compiling registries by pointing phones at merchandise.
Because all this technology is so new, the article said it still remains to be seen how readily shoppers will embrace such aggressive merchandising, which will generally require them to download free applications onto their phones and consent to being tracked electronically while in a store.
Besides for privacy and consumer compliance, retailers recognize other pitfalls, such as the application offering out-dated information, screen freezing and costs.