Wearable Technology and Why It’s the Next Big Thing for Retailers

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Samsung Business for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

Retailers know more than anyone that sitting down to get things “done” is a hard challenge to accomplish most days. After all, most merchants bank on their doors opening and closing throughout the day as they welcome customers to their store. Keeping this in mind, the idea of wearable technology is exciting for merchants as retail continues to evolve and become unlike anything businesses have ever experienced in the past. Consider the smartphone, for example, and how it has impacted consumer behavior and merchant behavior alike over the years. Wearable technology, likewise, is bound to impact consumers and retailers, as well. The question is, how can business owners use wearable technology to their advantage?

Among the various ways wearable technology can support retailers and many different types of small businesses include:

1. Wearable Watches aka Technology: The Gear S from Samsung is a great example of how merchants can apply wearable technology to their businesses. Essentially, this allows employees to connect, communicate and collaborate with each other – as well as with customers. Since it’s worn on the wrist, employees have no excuse to misplace it – and even more importantly, it’s easy to use access and delivers immediate support for store operational needs whether on the sales floor, in the back room or away from the store all-together.

2. Virtual Reality Technology: Customers love to be engaged… but let’s face it, engaging customers isn’t what it used to be. Beyond delivering great customer service, merchants can now deliver dynamic retail experiences unlike they have in the past. By using virtual reality technology, retailers offer customers new experiences with 360 degrees panoramic views, intuitive touch controls and various applications that you can apply to these devices. This is definitely a technology worth being the first in your community to try because without a doubt, your store will become the talk of the town!

3. Work Life Balance Technology: Here at Retail Minded, we’ve always said that running your own business is a lifestyle – not just a job. So as you can imagine, we’re huge fans of wearable technology that doesn’t just help our business but also helps us individually. Gear Fit is a great example of this, offering busy store owners and employees alike the chance to increase productivity while tracking their health. Plus, we love that these wearable devices are also stylish in design.

The world we live in isn’t like it used to be – and like it or not, how we run our businesses can’t remain the same. Fortunately, change can be a good thing and while a lot of other changes ahead of us may not be as exciting to embrace, wearable technology is definitely something we can get excited about.

Learn more about consumer behavior and wearable technology on the Samsung Business Blog. Related articles:

• The Future of Retail Technology: 4 Trends Bringing the Virtual Experience into Reality
• Wearable Technology: Supporting Retail’s Back Office and Operations