More and more retailers are dropping in-store internet service in favor of 4G’s LTE communication technology. The technology often offers upload and download speeds similar to and faster than wired cable internet. And it makes sense, because the next LTE standard that’s coming is the IMT-Advanced standard. That could boost performance 100 Mbps – 1 Gbps. That could replace wired internet too, assuming good signal strength.

Not only would that provide a good in-store experience for customers. But even as we speak, it’s driving a huge transition to retailers operating their entire store with apps. That eliminates the need for awkward-to-use cash registers. Piles of paper become a thing of the past. And instead, you could run your entire store from a fleet of iPads.

Okay, that might stretch the possibilities a little too much. But you get the point. You could store nearly all your data and operate most of your store digitally. That would save on equipment costs, employee and vendor time used to maintain that equipment, and you’d be able to quickly customize your operations to better meet your customer’s needs.

An Interesting New Innovation: Retailers Use Mobile Devices to Support In-Store Purchases

Do you remember how Best Buy struggled with the “showrooming” effect? That was where consumers would look up products online, try them out in person at Best Buy, and then actually make the purchase online at Amazon.

Well, this strategy would be the opposite of all that. One way to do this would be to replace the functionality of an interactive kiosk with the consumer’s smartphone. They simply download your app, and then they have access to all kinds of additional information about your products and services. You could feature videos of your product in action, for example.

That gives you a chance to capture some of the sales that could be lost to showrooming. Retailers are doing this to enhance the in-store experience.

So think of how you could use mobile to do the same. Your competitors are likely not considering this. They’re more focused on stopping the loss of sales.

Technology is certainly bringing new and exciting opportunity to retail. Stay tuned to our blog to learn what you can do next to stay ahead of your competition.