New platforms drive innovation, opportunity in retail engagement
Swiss Farms convenience stores offer a drive-thru service for busy consumers, such as moms: They roll down the window, hand over a list and someone inside collects the goods.
Technology has made nearly everything shoppable in recent years, from billboards to social media sites. If the 2010 holiday shopping season was any indication, it’s serving as an increasingly important tool for consumers making purchasing decisions. This past holiday season marked the point when smartphones and other interactive technologies switched from “novelty to something that the average shopper [was] excited about because of the utility that technology affords,” says Alexandra Smith, a global analyst at Chicago-based market research firm Mintel International Group.