As DevPro Journal continues its series of articles published to deliver trends and predictions that B2B software developers should monitor in 2025, we turn our sights to the retail vertical.
NRF took place last week, where the “Store of the Future” is a common theme. As Bruce Kornfeld, Chief Product Officer at StorMagic, explains, “Facing razor-thin margins, retailers are struggling with architecting the store of the future while keeping costs down. Retailers have a massive desire to become faster and nimbler regarding customer interaction and retention. There is a lot of innovation within the store that leverages technology for a competitive advantage.”
To see firsthand what Kornfeld means, one need only look at the buying and checkout options many retailers are implementing today. Mauricio Chacon, group product manager, Business Systems Division, for Epson America, says, ” The biggest retail trend we’ll see in 2025 is the continued focus on streamlining checkout options to improve customer experiences. With buying options now available for mobile, self-service or traditional checkout, businesses will implement technology that allows them to offer a complete experience for guests.”
He goes on to explain that businesses are looking for more options to improve the customer experience by making it easier to check out, whether it’s enabling sales associates to handle transactions on the floor through portable or mobile POS (mPOS) systems or offering contactless payment options through self-service kiosks, smartphones, smart watches, or tap–and–go.
“Additionally, online ordering will continue to grow in popularity, providing ease and flexibility for customers to place orders for a range of items and pick up in-store or curbside,” he adds. “Retailers will expand their use of liner-free label printers to easily adhere a label to items for pick up. Liner-free labels not only help streamline operations but also ensure that businesses can meet customer demands quickly and accurately, reducing delays, errors and miscommunication across platforms. The 2025 goal is clear: make checkout easier and quicker, so employees can focus more on engaging with customers and create a better overall shopping experience.”
