The retail industry is one of many that have seen new advancements due to the rapid growth of digital and automated technology. Retail technology involves implementing innovations and digital solutions in retail and e-commerce, including checkout, inventory management, fulfillment, and in-store facilities.
Retail Technology
Retail technology describes the digital tools and advances that traditional brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce platforms use in their supply chain and in-store operations. It forms the nucleus of retail businesses’ digital transformation. Automation, the Internet of Things (IoT), and artificial intelligence are frequently used as power sources for retail technology applications (AI). Statista’s data on retail technology includes information on how it is used in both traditional and online retail, as well as on recent and upcoming investments in and introductions of new retail technologies in the more prominent retail and e-commerce industries.
Both brick-and-mortar and e-commerce businesses benefit from retail technology at various stages of their business processes. Both online and offline retail companies can profit from supply chain and digital logistics solutions. Retail technology like payments and customization draws increased interest and investment for e-commerce and multichannel firms. Retail technology plays a significant role in converting today’s retail businesses into immersive areas on the storefront.
Some more info of Retail Tech
The businesses involved in retail technology are the ones that employ the most creative and imaginative types of cutting-edge technology to create a setting where brick-and-mortar and online stores that are currently separate from one another become one.
As a result of technology, consumers can now purchase online more efficiently, causing retail businesses to grow exponentially. Another aspect of the retail industry’s technology usage that has improved is inventory management.
The way usage of retail technology is crucial to the customer experience. Both offline and online retailers engage in several facets of retail technology today. AI-powered devices like self-checkout lanes and intelligent mirrors are examples of in-store retail technology tools. In addition, retail technology helps e-commerce companies manage their customer bases, maintain a smooth retail experience across many platforms, and manage their inventory effectively with cloud software.
Online marketplaces, brick-and-mortar enterprises, B2B and B2C e-commerce, and e-services like meal kits and food delivery depend on retail technology. In addition, financial support for these industries has increased significantly in recent years, pushing businesses to restructure their businesses to be more digital.
Benefit of Retail Tech to customers
The consumer shopping experience has undergone a significant transformation due to the advent of cutting-edge technologies and digital disruption. Retail technology is currently considered the new buzzing industry, bringing many changes and opportunities. A positive client experience is one of the essential factors in every successful business.
The enormous diversity of technologies, ranging from robots to AR/VR to perform the automation process and enhance shop operations, has been developed by many store operations and analytics, another top category. For example, robotic service providers automate the fulfillment process using mechanical hardware and software.
It is a tool for inventory management and merchandising, providing simple access to product information and more precise demand predictions. Additionally, this operation streamlines wholesale purchasing for smaller shops, which account for the eight businesses in the prior year. These businesses are gaining market share quickly and have experienced the best-accelerated demand during the Covid-19 epidemic.
Technology usage in retail has simplified and streamlined the payment process and allowed customers to make purchases using cell phones. With this, the aspect of customer service has improved. Devices like self-help kiosks have been a great example of how IT is used in retail.
There are many retail channels like in-store retail tech, E-commerce enablement, supply chain tech for the mid-and last-mile fulfillment, shopper loyalty, the number of rewards tech, and the new format of the retail enablement.
Let’s take a closer look at some retail technology businesses in India that have been helping customers and driving the sector upward.
Provided below are India’s best Retail Tech companies of 2023.
1. Faire
Faire is the only business that specializes in helping merchants find and buy the most fantastic wholesale goods for their assortment of outlets. The founders established this company in 2017 with the best team members available. Their company employs between 250 and 500 people. The company’s total funding value has been excellent, with nine investment rounds.
The 16 investors have been instrumental in the company’s progress. Several retailers may find some new products for their stores on Faire, an entirely free and AI-powered site. The retailers may also quickly return products that don’t sell for free and conduct A/B testing on their inventory. For merchants, it serves as a comprehensive online marketplace that aids in locating the most stunning goods for their stores.
The business assists the retailer in developing a direct relationship with the specific brand they wish to invest in and turn into their next big hit. Even more generously, the fire business offers free shipping to a few carefully chosen, highly distinctive brands targeted at pre-retailers.
Following $400 million in investment rounds, Faire Wholesale Inc.’s online marketplace has a value of $12.4 billion. The company’s platform has serviced over 250,000 retailers and about 30,000 unique brands from over 80 countries.
2. Grabango
Since its founding in 1016, Grabango has developed self-checkout technology for convenience stores and large-scale grocers. A business provides a free service made available by a variety of groceries. All customers can scan the code on the Grabango app to bypass the checkout line and leave the business.
The fact that they are quick is one of the most admirable aspects of the business. It takes almost a tenth as long as the fast checkout. Users can quickly download the application from both smartphones for nearly nothing. It is simple to use for people. Many people waiting in grocery lines for a while now might experience the thrill of doing business with this company.
To put it briefly, Grabango is the only location that provides checkout-free shopping services based on computer vision, integrating machine learning technology
3. CleverCards
Payment technology has enabled organizations and the government to instantly provide anyone with the best digital master cards via SMS or email. Simply put, it allows quick payments to everyone and anywhere. It is regarded as the worldwide payment platform that has made it possible for several businesses and government agencies.
You merely make purchases from other brands online or in stores. To thank their staff or consumers, the firm has started giving corporate clients their digital pre-paid Mastercards. It has the gig economy and businesses that have a way to pay their employees and other vendors with pre-paid Mastercards instantly.
The business also works on the aspect of their insurance claim, which entails swiftly paying the shares to their clients or merchants using their only pre-paid Mastercard. The industry has been facilitating government payouts, which distribute payouts to give benefits solely via their card, enabling the airline payout service to pay their consumers using their digital MasterCard promptly. Mobile minutes can be easily converted into a digital Mastercard, allowing customers to spend money rapidly worldwide.
4. Slackline
Slackline is known for providing the most significant e-commerce operations, tools, data, and services. It also offers retail intelligence. A team of seasoned experts from the most well-known e-commerce sector founded this retail technology startup. As a result, there is just one platform for all the tools you require to expand your business.
Stackline’s technology activates the data, automates the execution, and even improves the e-commerce platform. As a result, the biggest brands and shops worldwide are present there. In addition, it has updated market intelligence. It now uses metrics like sales volumes, traffic, conversion rates, and more to assess the performance of each category across all online retail platforms. As a result, their digital commerce and online retail trends for the main categories are freely accessible.
By promptly observing traffic and the shopping marketing activities driving sales across all categories, the number of shoppers obtains the best marketing information. As a result, you can comprehensively view your complete e-commerce operation.
5. Trove
The retail technology company Trove has been developing white-label technology and end-to-end operations for the most upscale and opulent businesses to support the most circular purchasing. As a result, they have the most embedded content. Every time you visit the site, they gather a tonne of anonymous analytical data and share it with other shops.
The business does not divulge its customer information to any parties. They so keep it with themselves in a very safe and secure manner. They utilize the most efficient information to guide their marketing efforts and make the finest automated selections.
Their privacy will always be protected and respected by the company. The business uses personal data to maintain customers’ accounts and deliver the services and goods you have requested from them. For its clients, the company has a powerhouse for the circular economy.
6. GrubMarket
GrubMarket offers speedy delivery and the best kinds of fresh foods at a low price. Founded in 2014, we can describe it as a company that digitally alters the American food supply chain industry. Finding a wholesaler is simple; you may get affordable access to high-end, unique products. Then, purchase the company’s software and investigate the most cutting-edge solutions for inventory, warehouse, eCommerce, etc.
Farm-fresh goods are available at over 50% lower rates than grocery shops and can be delivered to your house. It is a full-service food technology retailer to bring the highest-quality food to every customer.
The wholesalers and distributors in this broad network offer their goods to clients in various marketplaces, including local markets, government agencies, schools, and food services.
7. AiFi
The organization is renowned as a software development firm that works with various companies to specialize their retail automation systems process and provide the highest customer service. With their AI-powered retail solutions, it’s as if a new world of opportunities has opened up. Additionally, it forces businesses to design their own self-contained, checkout-free retail environment at any site across the nation, with the most adaptable company. Supermarkets powered by AI offer the best services and open new speciality stores in their office.
While retaining a highly fluid experience, they assist in the renovation of their current store and install their AiFi solutions in all of its areas. They provide accuracy within three months of operation and have a manageable 12-month ROI period. The company’s customers’ buying habits are overwhelmingly preferred, which improves operational effectiveness and even boosts sales.
As with contactless checkout, its high degree of autonomy makes shopping safer, quicker, and even more fun. Most consumers recommend using AiFi for operations since it gives retail establishments great independence. AiFi gives its clients a superior checkout-free experience that customers can find in any retail shop concept by utilizing artificial intelligence, computer vision, and sensor flow.
8. Trax
This company specializes in retail technology and provides solutions for in-store execution and market analysis services. Utilize their impressive level of surveys to obtain the most helpful input. It is the most straightforward method for gathering information about your company and input. To acquire the feedback before this firm, you would have to spend a lot of time and money. However, as soon as you start working for the company, you quickly use the lovely, exciting surveys to gather feedback.
The company offers some of the quickest insights for analytics, reports, and dashboards compared to other firms. Customers should concentrate on their businesses; the corporation will take care of the rest.
You may engage with real people anytime, anywhere with this company, and you’ll routinely receive data-driven insights that help you operate your business better. The platform offers the customer’s essential all-in-one services, including 360 Evaluation, offline Knots, and online surveys. Using forms, landing pages, OR code generators, and line trackers is always better marketing.
9. Happy Returns
It is referred to as a return solution since it uses reverse logistics and returns software to create attractive returns for customers, retailers, and the environment. Customers who are entirely label-free returns at our nationwide network of 3,800 return bars have given us a 93 NPS, earning us praise from tens of thousands of satisfied customers.
For every million returns, the company Happy Returns handles, greenhouse gas emissions are reduced by 120 lbs by switching from cardboard to reusable totes.
The company saves money compared to mail returns since their return bar returns are combined and shipped as a single package from multiple shops, saving them a lot of money just on shipping. Customers ought to push the company to make wise substitutions, which are always dependent on the reason for the return and the stock of inventory.
Many customers who use them stated that they would be less likely to purchase from a company again if they had a bad return experience. Because of the size issue, the company generates about 52% of their returns. Happy Returns is therefore regarded as the best for making returns.
10. LISNR
It provides the most secure, safe, and seamless data transmission using the most up-to-date ultrasonic data technology technique. Regarding the advancement of retail technology, it is renowned as the greatest. For businesses and several financial services providers around the nation, contactless authentication and its data-over-sound capabilities enable proximity verification and contactless transactions.
It is adaptable enough to accommodate full-duplex and multichannel features, encryption, cryptography, and crucial exchange. As a result, the business can make the most secure communication techniques available. Based on the transport layers and the relevant business model, all clients linked to their organization have total authority over how their data is transmitted and interacted.
Customers can quickly alter their performance range from a few centimetres to many meters while the transmission process is underway.
The business is renowned for its effectiveness at work. When the range and control competence are combined, authentication experiences are much faster and smoother. Moreover, it offers the best client experience thanks to the cheapest cost structure in the payment process.
Importance of Retail Tech companies
The current rising trends make retail technology firms crucial. The nation’s rapid development is creating additional opportunities for advancement. Retail technology enables firms to expand with increased revenue and encourages business owners to raise the bar for their enterprises.
Digital technology can quickly disrupt the retail industries and usher them into the next era by reinventing their whole supply chains. Retail enterprises heavily rely on technology; in the past, shoppers had to wait in long lines to buy their products. After the introduction of retail technology, clients all around the country are now satisfied, and customer feedback has improved.
As a result of technology, consumers can now purchase online more efficiently, causing retail businesses to grow exponentially. Another aspect of the retail industry’s technology usage that has improved is inventory management.
Even before it became entirely straightforward, this approach was costly for enterprises. Then comes the issue of price auditing, a procedure required by businesses to make sure they are not overcharging or undercharging their clients. This service has also improved with more features and conveniences.
