Bricks versus clicks: Offline stores finally using technology to beat online competition

How great would it be, to let your smartphone notify you when products from your favourite brands are available at your nearest brick-and-mortar stores, and at what discounts? This is soon going to be a reality as brick-and-mortar retailers are taking help from tech start-ups to learn about the shopping pattern and preferences of their customers.

In order to compete with their online counterparts intensifying the competition, offline retail stores are finally relying on technology.

InteractionOne, a tech start-up, offers a proximity discovery platform, which enables its customer stores to talk to detect smartphones using Bluetooth connections and communicate with them, all through an app, called Mobmerry.

The app uses machine-learning algorithm so that it can known user's likes and preferences over time through their browsing patterns. It also helps users add products to their wish list, which enables a notification to pop up in their smartphones the next time they are near a store. Not only this, users also get some walk-in points when they use the app to come shopping.

"Retailers have started to see traction and are more willing to integrate technology in their stores," Krishna Prasad, cofounder of InteractionOne, told ET.

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