POST-PANDEMIC RETAILING: TECHNOLOGIES TO MINIMISE CLOSE-CONTRACT SCENARIOS BETWEEN WORKERS & CUSTOMERS

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POST-PANDEMIC RETAILING TECHNOLOGIES TO MINIMISE
CLOSE-CONTRACT SCENARIOS BETWEEN WORKERS
 CUSTOMERS
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What seemed unimaginable just a few months ago
stay at home orders, social distancing, and
frequent cleaning of high-touch points, is widely
accepted as the new norm now. The COVID-19
outbreak has exposed us all to new realities.
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Despite best efforts, front-line workers in
healthcare, retail, public safety, manufacturing
and transportation logistics, at some point,
have found it particularly challenging to
maintain a three-six feet distance from other
people while offering their essential services.
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That being said, many technologies are emerging
that can help workers and customers practise
social distancing successfully. Some of them are
listed below
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Co-Bots and Similar Intelligent Automation
Solutions
Tracking, cleaning and moving goods from shelves,
analysing shelf inventory- all these tasks are no
longer suitable for humans. Smart robotics and
artificial intelligence solutions, are gaining
more popularity in retail and manufacturing
environments as they help cut costs, save time
and improve operations.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has given a stronger reason
to integrate these technologies into retail and
warehousing operations. Employing co-bots to
pick, load and transport items can eliminate
workers movements and interactions with each
other.
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Aerial drones and shelf auditing robots powered
by AI-powered computer vision, can be used to
scan and sense shelves, taking hassle out of
monitoring, pricing and management of products
within the store.
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Co-bots highly promote social distancing which
makes them an ideal solution for different
industries during the pandemic.
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Kiosks
lf-servicing kiosks are another boon in this new
normal era which helps minimise contact between
customers and retail staff. These machines allow
customers to scan their purchases, place food
orders and even pay for their purchases without
coming in close contact with the staff.
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Voice-Assisted Commerce
Voice assistant technology already had an
audience before this pandemic, but voice commerce
has gone one stage further through the
convergence of artificial intelligence and chat
bots to create personalised shopping experiences
for customers.
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Voice assisted technology allows customers to
make purchases using voice commands. Instead of
typing in a search query, customers speak their
queries into the mic of their device to find
products or any information. Customers can use
any devices and platforms that support Google
Assistant or Siri. Once you have placed an order,
the in-store workers will gather selected items
and deliver by the method you have chosen while
placing the order.
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This is just another way how retailers can
enhance customer experience. Smart speakers and
voice commerce technology are becoming more
popular day-by-day, thus continuing to
revolutionise the future of retail.
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Internet of Things (IoT)
With the help of IoT enabled thermometers, not
only healthcare workers can take patients
temperatures from a distance, but patients can
also take their own temperature and upload data
via mobile devices for virtual monitoring by
their care team. This way, more healthcare
workers can collect data and reduce risk of
getting exposed to virus.
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Apart from all these technologies, extended range
barcode scanners can also be used in retail,
healthcare and public safety environments to scan
barcodes while maintaining required physical
distancing.
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There are many other ways in which technologies
which were once considered good-to-have in the
business can be leveraged to protect customers
and workers against COVID-19. Choosing the right
technology for your business can help you use
this pandemic as an opportunity to improve your
operational efficiency, and customer and staff
safety.
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Contact Us
POS Sales PO Box 7921 Baulkham Hills BC NSW
2153 Email sales_at_possales.com.au Phone [phone]
062