The Impact Of IOT On The Retail Industry

Leading retailers are optimizing their supply chains, designing smart stores and enhancing customer experience.

- Ankur Mittal

The advent of the Internet of Things (IoT) or connected devices has had an impact on every business. The retail industry has seen the rules of customer engagement and back-end management undergo big changes. These changes have helped increase speed and efficiency in the retail business, with a positive effect on profits. The impact of IoT on retail will increase in the coming years with the rise in the number of connected devices. As per a forecast from Gartner Inc., 8.4 billion connected things will be used worldwide in 2017, up 31% from 2016.

There is a lot of evidence already pointing to the benefits of IoT in retail. Data gathered from smartphones, wearables and other devices provide new insights for retailers. IoT is being used by them to simplify various aspects of the business in multiple ways. These include:

Supply chain – Many retailers now use robotics, smart conveyors, sensors and smart vehicles to move products either within warehouses or from one location to the other. This enables them to move products faster and with a high rate of accuracy. It facilitates space optimization and allows more products to be stored in the same space. They also give retailers greater visibility to their products and helps them identify where they are in the supply chain. This allows them to make better decisions and reduces out-of-stock instances.