In 2015 Retail Industry Outlook, Alison Kenney Paul, vice chairman and US Retail and Distribution leader, Deloitte LLP, shares her views on the technological revolution in retail businesses, which has led to such critical consumer concerns as:

• The security of private data submitted to e-commerce sites.
• The availability of same level of shopping comfort and enjoyment as offered by physical retail outlets.
• Availability of better digital technologies and tools for pre-shopping research.

Thus, it is apparent that today’s retail customers strongly favor digital research before visiting physical stores. Although, thanks to the millennial generation, the number of digital shoppers is steadily growing, many old-timers still miss the comfort levels of physical stores as they have been used to shopping that way for years. Paul, in her interview, indicates that retail shoppers of all ages are ideally looking for a blend of physical shopping comfort and the speed, economy, and convenience of digital shopping platforms.

As an answer to such perceptible consumer demands, one of the Seven Retail Trends Affecting the Shopping Experience in 2015 has been identified as the steady rise of in-store beacons or digital sensors, placed across shelves, signs, or product display racks. This star trend of 2014 will continue to dominate the digital shopping landscape in the next 12 months. This rising digital strategy, retailers believe, will close the gap between physical and digital shopping experiences, and also enhance the personalized shopping experience for mobile shoppers.

In a separate survey of more than 2,100 U.S. consumers, a research company called Moxie found that shoppers want live interactions with sales or customer-service representatives from their mobile devices. Moxie reported that 62% of retail consumers expect live video chats to be available on mobile devices.

Use of Video chats to the retail business

According to this research from Moxie, when consumers need immediate resolution of problems or queries, they usually seek human help instead of digital support systems like FAQs, online product literature, or how-to videos. Most consumers report the availability of a customer representative via chat or video chat to answer questions would significantly enhance their online or mobile shopping experience.

VeriShow’s Video chats offer the following benefits:

• Efficient omni-channel (text, video, mobile) presence to sales or customer-service representatives to engage with consumers in a more personal, one-to-one fashion.
• Assisted self-service to customers. Customers would love the independence of self-service channels with the possibility of instant access to text or video chats whenever necessary.
• Provisioning of anytime anyplace communication between customers and retail business representatives at the lowest cost.
• Possibility of sharing the accumulated wisdom of larger groups of customers through co-browsing or content sharing tools for informed decisions about retail products or services.
• Live support on the product selection or buying decisions. The digital customers often feel reassured of their choices when those are backed by live human support.