2 tech innovations to supercharge the holiday shopping experience

You've just spent a long day out and about searching for holiday gifts for family and friends, and now you're ready for a refreshment — perhaps a snack or coffee. But the line at the coffee shop is out the door. Ugh — do you wait it out or give up and head on home instead?

Long lines are never fun, especially during the holidays when you're running yourself ragged. And this year, Deloitte says that the preference for in-store purchases will return to 2019 levels , meaning that shoppers can expect robust crowds.

It's no surprise then that the time spent waiting in line at retail stores has increased by 30% since 2022, and in the U.S. alone, Americans spend roughly 37 billion hours each year waiting in line, according to q recent Waitwhile survey.

Frictionless: A better way to shop

One way that retailers can help ensure that wait times are kept to a minimum is by removing unnecessary steps and touch points. The goal is to make commerce essentially frictionless.

Technology can help. Powered by cameras, computer vision and artificial intelligence , automated checkout and inventory management solutions provide a more intuitive experience in traditional retail settings, such as convenience stores, coffee shops, airports, and train stations, as well as venues such as stadiums, theaters, and racetracks.

Here's how it works. Shoppers enter the store and check-in using their credit card or a branded loyalty app, and a turnstile or gate permits access to the shopping space. Cameras work in concert with a computer vision system and machine learning to track shopper movement and interactions with specific retail items, without the use of facial recognition. Finally, when shoppers are finished shopping, they can simply exit the store — a digital receipt is then generated and sent to them.

Sometimes, this time-sensitive simplicity can make all the difference. When Amerant Bank Arena opened its doors for the 2023 All-Star Weekend, fans were able to use the venue's new automated checkouts, powered by Verizon 5G, to simply and quickly buy drinks and snacks and get back to their seats without having to worry about missing any of the action on the ice.

Not only does this technology reduce customer transaction time, but embedded analytics also enable retailers to track buying patterns and find the optimal inventory mix for each location, increasing transaction count and basket size.

This kind of "cashierless checkout" is gaining traction in the food and beverage convenience space, but other kinds of retailers are taking notice as well.

Personalize it and customers will remember

Beyond wanting every experience to be simple, customers want one that is tailored to their specific preferences. They want retailers to remember their preferences and be able to make informed recommendations in real time, whether they are purchasing a coffee or a TV.

Equipped with data and AI technology, retailers with millions of customers can now arm their salespeople with personalized, instant insights at the point of sale to make them appear as knowledgeable as a 'Main Street' shop owner that served the same few hundred customers for decades. This includes insight into items a customer has recently purchased and which item they are most likely to purchase next, given their past behavior. This customization through predictive analytics will be especially important this year, because shoppers have more money but will be prudent about spending it. Personalization can make the difference between a satisfied customer and a missed opportunity.

Make it easy and make it special. This is what our retail customers are telling us they're hearing from consumers. Americans are spending more time waiting in line at retail stores than at restaurants, pharmacies, doctor's offices, and banks combined. And when they finally get to the front of the line, they want to deal with someone who understands their needs. Taken together, frictionless commerce and personalization address those challenges. They make the in-store shopping experience far more enjoyable for consumers. And that translates into greater profit for retailers.