6 Ways Industry 4.0 Is Changing Retail

By Devin Partida, ReHack.com

The ongoing digital transformation of retail, powered in part by Industry 4.0 technology, is having a significant impact on how retailers organize their stores and sell goods to customers. New styles of management powered by the Internet of Things (IoT) are already reshaping retail and could transform the industry within the next few years.

These are six of the most significant ways Industry 4.0 is changing the retail market and the long-term impact the fourth industrial revolution is likely to have on this sector.

1. Cashierless Stores

Cashierless stores like Amazon Go use IoT technology to automatically track the items customers put in their cart as they shop, removing the need for a cashier or in-store checkout. These shops use a network of smart devices to achieve this. Smart weight-sensing shelves detect when a customer picks up a product, and an internet-connected security camera confirms they’ve placed something in their shopping cart.

The store can use information from these systems to generate a list that automatically bills the customer for the items they took with them.

This provides a new shopping experience that offers minimal friction and convenience compared to conventional stores.

2. Smart Store Technology

Smart technology also can streamline management and improve customer experience in conventional stores, even if retailers aren’t ready to fully adopt the cashierless model.

Smart shelves can be used to streamline inventory management. They update managers about low-weight readings that suggest product counts are dropping.

A smart camera observing a shopping cart storage area can automatically alert managers when more should be brought in from the parking lot or another location in the store.

3. AI-Powered Retail Analytics

Some retailers are beginning to leverage AI to improve their analytics strategies.

The pattern-finding abilities of AI help it find connections and patterns that conventional algorithms can’t. This makes the technology particularly useful for AI demand forecasting algorithms that can remain highly accurate, even when demand becomes volatile and unpredictable, rendering conventional methods less effective.

4. Personalization

Additive manufacturing techniques, like 3D printing, make it much more cost-effective to fabricate products in small quantities. This can make short-run goods much more practical. For example, in the apparel industry, suppliers use 3D printing to fulfill small-scale orders, allowing them to offer personalized products that are tailor-designed for a specific client or customer.

Combined with other Industry 4.0 technology, additive manufacturing techniques can enable highly personalized goods and short-run products at a price point retailers can afford.

5. Robotics In-Store

Robots are on track to transform the retail industry in stores and factories that supply finished products to retailers.

Autonomous shelf-scanning robots that assist with inventory, janitorial bots that clean floors as they move around the store, and even those that help customers and answer simple questions are real-world examples. Major retailers, like Lowes and Walmart, have started to use technology like this experimentally in their stores. In practice, they can make shopping more convenient and streamline retail management.

6. Robotics In The Factory

Robots are making manufacturing processes much more flexible and adaptable in factories. They ensure supply can meet sometimes volatile and unpredictable customer demand.

Collaborative robots are designed with safety features like force limiters and padded joints that help them operate safely near human workers. These cobots can be used for various tasks, like machine tending, packing, and quality assurance processes. This helps make factories more agile.

How Industry 4.0 Technology Is Transforming Retail

Big data, AI, IoT, additive manufacturing, and robotics are likely to have a transformative effect on the retail industry.

As data becomes available and the manufacturing sector invests more in novel technologies, Industry 4.0 is likely to have an even greater impact on retail. Soon, AI-powered analytics, smart stores, and even in-store robotics could enter the retail industry mainstream.

About The Author

Devin Partida is a writer and blogger interested in retail technologies and business solutions. To read more from Devin, visit ReHack.com, where she is the Editor-in-Chief.