FROM AUTOMATION TO METAVERSE: WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR RETAIL STORES

With automation and robots in place, daily tasks could be run by robots and make the customer experience more streamlined and convenient. These smart machines are already stocking shelves, keeping track of the stock, restocking merchandise, and so on.

It could so happen that these robots as they materialized the data they have, could optimize every aspect of the store from visual merchandising to full in-store planning. As everything is shifting towards customer experience, the traditional methods will change, and some will go obsolete.

In the past, shopping behavior was linear: you liked something. You bought it. Took it home. End of story. But now, it is not as simple, you see. With the internet, customer behavior has changed. And to keep up with the ever-changing desires of the customers, retailers are relying on relevant data in order to keep track of their customer's habits and needs. For the companies, data is readily present.

Learning about our shopping patterns, and providing the best suitable options in our list of things is where things are headed. Could it be possible that we become fully dependent on these systems to tell us what we want, need and desire? It is often said that AI knows the human psyche better than humans themselves.

With the human race going virtual, it is invadable that we have a whole virtual space like the real one where we can do what we do in real life. It sounds absurd, but it is the new shiny thing that is in making, and with all the hype, people will incline toward it.

While it seems like a video game for people, what it can say for brands? The answer is simple. Brands can sell in Multiverse; brand activation agencies can activate brands in the most outstanding way possible. They can provide the best customer experience in the metaverse and build trust.

But is it the one-stop solution for brands? Not really. There are still things the metaverse can't provide, not yet at least.

Labor shortages are a pain for businesses and stressful for merchants and retailers, especially those providing retail store planning services. Customers are looking for better experiences. But when you are caught flat-footed and you are short on staff, losing opportunities from right under your nose, pressure builds.

What's the solution? Automation. Like everything, it too can be used to benefit the customer. And since the shortage is expected to grow in the future. Companies need to act faster. And automation could be the answer. But technology is nowhere cheap. What would happen to small businesses? Would they vanish in the thin air? Would there be a monopoly of bigger brands?