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Advanced Tech To Play Leading Role In Black Friday Shopping

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Black Friday, the kick-off to the holiday shopping season in the U.S. is mere days away, which means scores of consumers will be waking up in the early hours of the morning to get deep discounts on some of the hottest holiday items.

Long lines, disgruntled consumers and even the occasional brawl have become synonymous with the annual shopping event, but this year technology will try to change that. From virtual reality headsets to contactless payments, retailers are aiming to increase the tech-led convenience this Black Friday weekend.

It may come in handy if the National Retail Federation’s forecast proves true. It estimates about 164 million people will shop from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday. According to the trade group’s recent survey of consumers, 34 million plan to shop on Thanksgiving while 116 million will hit the stores on Black Friday and 67 million are expected to spend money during small business Saturday. Of the shoppers 32 million will wait until Sunday, hoping for the crowds to dissipate. Cyber Monday is expected to draw 75 million shoppers online.

Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, has been preparing and not only coming up with its deals for the weekend shopping frenzy. It is making what is seen as the biggest corporate investment in virtual reality, purchasing 17,000 Oculus Go VR headsets to train employees in its 4,700 U.S.-based stores. Donning the headsets employees are put through different scenarios to improve how they deal with customers. The technology is being used to help associates experience what a typical Black Friday rush is like and to prepare them for the upcoming event. In an interview with Vox, Walmart’s senior director of digital operations Brock McKeel said its biggest advantage in the cut-throat retail market is its associates, so anything it can do improve customer relations gives it an edge. Walmart’s own internal research shows employees retain 10% to 15% more new information via VR training compared to watching videos, viewing online demos and engaging in classroom work.  

Speedy Checkout Thanks To Handheld Devices

Improving customer service isn’t the only way Walmart is leveraging technology this Black Friday weekend. It vows to have its Check Out With Me service in all of its Supercenter stores in time for Thanksgiving. With the service customers bypass regular checkout lines and pay in the department they are shopping in. Walmart will have associates stationed throughout the stores with handheld payment devices, swiping credit cards and providing paper or electronic receipts. Walmart also upgraded its mobile app for the occasion. It now includes a digital map, unique to the store, to help customers map out their shopping strategy. Search for an item in the app and its location will show up on the map.

Meanwhile, Macy’s is launching mobile checkout at all of its locations this holiday season. Customers can pay on their mobile phone using the Macy’s app and then drop by a mobile checkout counter on the way out. Employees confirm the purchase, take off the security tags and bag the item for the shopper. Target is expected to have its “Skip the Line,” feature available in stores across the country. Similar to Walmart’s offering, staffers will be armed with handheld devices to scan products and checkout customers. Staff can even order unavailable items online for the customer.

Mobile Shopping To Drive Sales

Mobile shopping is expected to have a big moment this Black Friday weekend, with Salesforce, the customer relationship management software company predicting it will surpass any other device with 46% of all orders placed via a smartphone.  Salesforce said Web traffic spawned from smartphones this year will be greater than all of the traffic in 2015 across every device type. Artificial intelligence will also play a role in this year’s holiday shopping. Salesforce predicts 35% of all revenue during the holiday shopping season will be driven by AI-based recommendations, up 25% year-over-year.

"Mobile is undoubtedly the most disruptive force in retail since the onset of ecommerce," said Rick Kenney, Head of Consumer Insights, Salesforce when announcing the forecasts this fall. "This is the year shoppers turn to phones, buying more on phones than any other device, and making far more visits, too. And even those in-store shoppers are mobile — 83 percent of shoppers aged 18–44 are using their phones while in a physical store."