Nikki Baird with Retail Systems Research identified three areas of investment that retailers have eyes on for the coming year: cross-channel care, mobility and interactivity. She says 2008 will be a year that sees a big push on the part of retail into the digital lives of consumers.
"Whether it is something as passively measured as dwell time through digital video surveillance, to sophisticated interactive kiosk/digital signage combos that can summon employees when more assistance is needed than the kiosk can supply, the future of customer service resides in interactivity. It's important not only because it provides the opportunity to get more personalized in how a retailer interacts with a customer, but also because it enables retailers to measure the effectiveness of that interaction — something sorely missing from purely passive forms of communication."
