eBay Inc. just announced the commerce company is introducing a Retail Associate Platform to help retail brands better engage with their customers in store.
The platform supports a wide range of in-store activities and is built in a modular fashion to support retailers of all sizes. The system is designed to replace the retail associate’s “little black book” as a high tech tool that empowers brands to drive long-term engagement with shoppers and increase the value of an average in-store order.
“The app is the next generation of in-store retail – empowering associates with the right tools to deliver customized shopping experiences to consumers in real-time,” said David Geisinger, head of retail business strategy at eBay Enterprise. “It’s a huge opportunity for both retailers and shoppers.”
With more traditional retail models, if a customer walks in and doesn’t buy, the retailer has no idea they even exist,” add Geisinger, whose team is focused on transforming how retailers engage in an omni-channel world. ”Even if they do buy with a credit card, the information they have is very minimal. With this new technology, retailers will be able to gather more detail that can help them understand the customer and compete in a crowded commerce landscape.”
According to an eBay Inc. white paper, 85% of retailers currently cannot customize a store visit due to lack of information about the customer. Retailers must be able to recognize when frequent shoppers enter their store. Among retailers surveyed by eBay Inc., 76% did not know when a specific customer was in their store.
eBay Inc.’s Retail Associate Platform app centers on leveraging a profile for each customer, utilizing their activity both in-store and online to allow associates to better engage with shoppers. On the platform, retailers have the ability to take a look at products or apparel shoppers have previously expressed interest in, but haven’t purchased. In some instances, product recommendations can also be tied to the shopper’s activities – such as an upcoming athletic event that requires sports apparel.
The platform has just been completed and the company is currently working to deploy it in-store with some of our eBay Inc. clients.