Wearable technology seems to have remained somewhat on the fringes of consumer consciousness for many years, with the majority of people unsure what to make of it. “What’s the point in moving the user interface two inches from my pocket to my wrist?” People argue. “But I’m terrible at multitasking, those glasses will just be another distraction…” Although wearables still have yet to gain widespread acceptance, interest is stirring and 2015 may just be the year sales takes off.
Juniper Research has forecast wearable advertising spend to reach $1.5 million this year. This growth will be fuelled by the recent entrance of high-profile brands like Apple into the smartwatch arena – as well as Jawbone and Nike, which are expected to follow suit with a line of more fashionable wristbands. This is a huge new market, and one that marketers and retailers alike would do well to embrace, due to the benefits it will bring to the customer experience.
About 72 percent of respondents from a PwC survey want to see wearable technology improving customer service, and already we see many companies taking note of this. Virgin Atlantic, for example, in an effort to streamline the check-in process, now provide their staff with Google Glass headsets and mini-printers to scan passengers’ passports and print boarding passes.
This is the more fun (perhaps gimmicky) side of what wearables have to offer. But these devices do hold a more sophisticated potential that can enhance the retail experience from a data-driven point of view.
A brave new world of customer personalization
Wearables are perhaps most valuable to the user when the data gained from the wearables experience is integrated more broadly into an interoperable retail ecosystem, which allows marketers and customer service teams to be in-touch with the shopper at every point along their journey.
Being constantly attached to the user’s wrist, the smartwatch, for example, allows for incredibly precise data to be gathered, which never sinks into a data black hole (since the consumer is always online). Granular data, such a user’s in-store shopping frequency, their basket size, dollar value per item, as well as personal information, such as what the customer “likes”, what they browse, and their body type is, will become available with the adoption of these always-on devices.
With this level of big data gathering, expect to be able to provide more informed customer service; faster payment processes; greater access to special offers and deals; and more real-time personalization and input into purchasing decisions.
A fully integrated touchpoint in the omnichannel journey
Wearables, especially smartwatches, rather than replacing another touchpoint, are able to act as a natural extension of the online or mobile brand experience, and can thus act as a further integrated touchpoint in the customers’ seamless, omnichannel journey.
In a recent ResponseTap survey, 73% of business respondents said that understanding the journey of an individual customer is of critical importance. It would appear the arrival of wearable devices, which will make individual data collection much more integrated and seamless, could not come any sooner!
Wearable tech adoption opens up huge opportunities for retailers to enhance the brand experience as a whole, leveraging things that customers already use and like and inserting their own brand messaging. For example, once marketers understand an individual customer profile, they can begin creating bespoke shopping paths for that person, offering a consistent and cohesive messaging across wearable and mobile devices.
Google Now Cards, for example, are already able to push relevant information at the right time, without you having to ask for it. Soon retailers will be doing this for themselves, with users triggering ads by the location and context of their activities.
IoT and the dawn of ‘super data’
The scene is being set for a world of hyper-connectivity: Gartner predict that by 2020 there will be 26 billion connected devices in the world (excluding PCs, tablets and smartphones). This represents an almost 30-fold increase from 2009, when there were just 0.9 billion.
A critical aspect of the wearable revolution, which will determine how widely these devices are accepted, lies in their ability to absorb and respond to external stimuli. So for wearable tech to be most valuable to the consumer, it’s going to have to work in tandem with the Internet of Things (IoT).
If all our everyday activities start to become influenced by Internet-enabled devices, even a simple trip to the grocers will become a super-personalized encounter, involving tailored promotions, customer service specific to our needs, and convenient payment options.
Big data may soon be known as “super data” which should be able to collect and interpret information itself, and deliver these useful insights directly to marketers. Certainly an attractive prospect to those averse to trawling through endless customer data!
Shifting retail landscapes.
Varying buying behavior.
What makes people click “buy”?
We’ve got the answers HERE.
