HP Innovation Journal Special Edition: Retail Transformation | Page 6

person—increasing demand for space allocated around grocery stores for curbside pickups, or online ordering done ahead for fast casual restaurants that eliminate the need to wait in a line. And still more customers choose online purchases and want choices for delivery. Predicting the future of the retail and hospitality indus- tries is difficult and inexact. But businesses can anticipate the fast-paced changes to those landscapes by under- standing customers through their shopping and purchase behaviors and deploying technology to improve the in-store experience to stay at the cutting edge of customer service. Businesses that are able to do this have a much better chance of gaining and retaining customers. ACCOMMODATING FOR TODAY, PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE The future of in-store technology in retail and hospitality means many things to many different businesses. It could mean extensive mobility and expanded self-service to 4 HP Innovation Journal: Retail Transformation empower customers and speed up transactions, virtual real- ity to inspire imaginations and entertain customers, or even augmented reality to enhance product customization. Whatever your vision of the future, it is critical that the technology decision you make today must not only deliver a return on investment, but also be designed with the fore- thought to adapt to the constant changes to the business landscape and keep delivering in the long term. Unlike other products, which need to be updated continuously after as little as six months, the HP family of long lifecycle point of sale solutions minimize disruption once implemented, with devices intended to carry retailers years into the future. Some businesses have decided how they want to imple- ment mobile technology. Others know they want to implement mobile capabilities but haven’t quite decided what it will look like. A convertible retail system like the HP Engage Go—which can remain fixed or be undocked by an associate for mobile use—offers businesses the best