In a shaky economy, retailers rely on tech to drive sales

Canadian retailers are looking for new ways to increase sales by leveraging technology, e-commerce and social media. In fact, 31% of those that saw growth in the last year attributed it to investment in technology, finds a report by American Express.

Notably, the retail sector reports it nearly doubled its international presence, which it attributed to an increase in online shopping (45% 2016 vs. 27% 2015). Still, many retailers remain dedicated to traditional sales drivers, like customer service and experience (85%), reaching new customers (83%) and providing new product offerings (73%).

“Customer service and new product offerings are always important, but in today’s market, embracing new technology to meet customer needs is setting businesses apart from the competition,” says Kerri-Ann Santaguida, vice-president and general manager, Merchant Services, American Express Canada.

Here are some additional findings.

• 77% report that their customers are driving their need to adopt mobile technologies;
• retailers plan to improve or invest in the following over the next 12-months: mobile payment options (45%); contactless payment options (38%); creating/updating a mobile app (35%); and
• 33% are seeing increased sales from app or online purchases.

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Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.