Battle Lines Drawn for the Retail mCommerce War in 2015

Retailers looking to three top trends – data analytics, Bluetooth beacons and personalized customer engagement – to gain a competitive edge in 2015

NEW YORK, 6th January, 2014 – The past year has seen a double digit decline in sales for traditional brick-and-mortar stores[1] – a shift which has been attributed to the changes taking place in the retail landscape towards digital commerce and the personalization of retail services. Analysts have predicted that the gap between digital innovators and digital stragglers will widen in 2015, with the use of data analytics, local marketing and overall use of mobile services being even more widespread for retailers.

Powa Technologies, a leading international commerce specialist, predicts that those retailers who will gain a competitive edge in 2015 will do so by focusing on these three technology trends:  better analysis of and use of Big Data; integration of Bluetooth beacons; and increased use of personalized customer engagement tools through mobile devices.

Dan Wagner, CEO and Founder of Powa Technologies, says: “We have seen a snippet of the change to come in 2015 – the always-connected consumer knowing what they want and believing they can get it immediately when they need it. It is now the retailers who are doing the catching up to make that a reality. Physical stores were caught unawares by the changing habits of consumers when it comes to how and where they choose to shop. This has resulted in some retailers failing to react at the cost of their own survival, while other retailers who foresaw this shift and embraced the digital revolution were able evolve and create a successful digital sales strategy.”
The use of Big Data analytics to analyze large banks of customer information to identify key trends will continue to be at the top of the agenda in 2015. Global spending on Big Data is predicted to grow at a compound annual rate of 46 per cent until 2020[2], but only around 15 per cent of Fortune 500 companies are expected to exploit Big Data effectively in 2015[3].

Retailers are also beginning to see the benefits of personalized in-store service with the use of Bluetooth-enabled beacons, which guide consumers and send them local offers while also gathering important data to continuously improve customer experience. Dan Wagner continues: “Consumers are no longer relying on price to be the determining factor in how or where they purchase an item – other factors such as a bespoke service, loyalty promotions and ever-shrinking delivery times have arrived at the forefront of a shopper’s mind. Consumers are savvier than ever when it comes to shopping and they are always looking for greater engagement and interaction with their favorite brands, regardless of whether it is online or offline.”

With global mobile transactions predicted to equal to $325b in 2015 according to Statista[4], retailers will be looking more to customer engagement tools that will not only attract consumers, but also provide the vital data to retain those consumers. The number of proximity mobile transactions in the US is predicted to reach $22.6m in 2015[5], highlighting the growing presence of local in-store technology in retailers’ sales strategy.

PowaTag gives shoppers the power to complete purchases anytime, anywhere using an array of triggers, including scanning print material, Bluetooth beacons, audio tags and social media. Consumers can buy a product straight from any form of advertising or with a tap of a smartphone.
The technology will be on show at the National Retail Federation’s ‘Big Show’ Expo in New York, between from January 11-13. During the expo, PowaTag will be incorporated into the booths of IBM, HP and Samsung, where the solution’s full capabilities will be on display. In addition, PowaPOS, the company’s next generation tablet-based POS solution, will also be showcased at the show.

Dan concludes: “2015 will be a defining year for mobile transactions, the tipping point when the process becomes ubiquitous. We have already witnessed a snapshot of the changes to come during Black Friday. These changes will take place in earnest in 2015, the year when mobile commerce will come of age.”

About Powa Technologies
Powa Technologies is an international commerce specialist that creates technologies that enable a seamless consumer experience across all purchase channels: online, offline and everywhere. With its next-generation solutions PowaTag, PowaPOS and PowaWeb, Powa removes the final barriers to instant global transactions through a revolutionary instant mobile payment technology, the first fully-integrated mobile POS platform, and advanced cloud-based ecommerce solutions. Significant investment capital has accelerated company growth, attracting the industry's finest subject matter experts to conceive, build and deploy innovative commerce technology at the heart of both merchants' and brands’ future omni-channel selling strategies. Powa Technologies is headquartered in London, UK, with offices in New York, Atlanta, San Diego, Miami, Toronto, Paris, Madrid, Stockholm, Berlin, Amsterdam, Milan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Shanghai.