The progress in innovation and technology is redefining the retail industry which has undergone continuous transformation. Networks, mobile platforms, social media, and live shopping have changed consumers' shopping habits, according to Taipei-based IT research institute MIC (Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute).
"One of the biggest advantages of shopping at a physical retail store is that consumers can physically feel products and pick up the goods immediately with no shipping fees and time difference involved. If retailers can let customers enjoy in-store shopping, they can easily attract consumers to their physical shops," says Chung-yu Yang, industry analyst with MIC. "In addition, facial recognition can help retailers collect consumer behavior data and optimize shopping experience"
"An excellent shopping experience at retail stores does not guarantee that consumers will buy the product. For physical retailers, they must reduce the price difference of the same product across different distribution channels. This brings out human resource and inventory management issues," says Yang.
"Facial recognition technology is going to help retailers to solve that as a large amount of customer behavior information can be collected via facial recognition and the analyze of the data can help retailers understand customer purchase patterns."
