IoT Opportunities for Your Retail Business

IoT is changing the way things work across industries, from more effective data analyzing to livestock tracking using smart technology. In the retail environment, adopting IoT solutions is more than allowing customers to interact both directly and indirectly with everything in the store.

According to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc., The IoT in the retail market size is expected to reach USD 94.44 billion by 2025, increasing demand for improved flexibility, distribution channels, services, and experience. With the help of IoT, retail businesses have the ability to give new experiences to customers. Let’s take a look at a few examples of what IoT provides for the retail environment.

Automated Checkout

IoT allows retail businesses to set up a tag-reading system on each item when a customer leaves the store. This checkout system would sort each item and automatically deduce the cost from the customers’ mobile payment app. According to McKinsey, this system can reduce cashier staff requirements by up to 75%.

Leased Line on POS Machines

Through a robust, secure leased line, POS machines can send every transaction data to retail businesses’ corporate servers. For example, ALFA Group uses Leased Line Connection and APN Corporate provided by Telkomsel IoT in their POS machines, which connected to an IoT Control Center Modem using cable. Each SIM card in the modem receives an IP address from the corporate network which provides the user access to allowed network services and applications.

Beacons

Beacons are IoT devices that use Bluetooth connections to automatically send push notifications directly to customers’ smartphones once they show up in the coverage area. Through these notifications, customers are notified about discounts and available offers in real-time, encouraging them to enter a store and make a purchase.

Order Management Solution

Having a well-integrated IoT system can provide retail businesses with detailed data and a deeper understanding of many types of information. Telkomsel IoT’s TOMS enables retail businesses to improve their delivery services using the collected information. By implementing route optimization, automated delivery and Geo-analytics-powered reports, they can now achieve optimized and improved business mobility.

RFID-supported Smart Shelves

This system, which contains RFID tag, RFID reader and antennae, eases the inventory management process. These shelves automatically monitor inventory and send alerts to managers if a certain item is running out or its date will expire soon. Apart from monitoring, RFID-supported smart shelves also take part in providing insights into customer behavior by transmitting data about items movements and whereabouts to a platform.

The integration of IoT innovates the retail industry, enabling retail businesses to craft a close-to-perfect marketing plan based on customer behavior. This combination of developments gives retail businesses a bigger chance to increase profit and operation efficiency. Of course, over the coming years, IoT will give more dramatic improvements in the retail industry, providing us new ways to implement our ideas.