Retail surgery: How can wearable tech be used to improve my online retail offer?

However, all too frequently there’s a disparity between the brand messages on websites and what customers really want.

 “While it may be tempting to do a big website refresh every few years, refining the online user experience should be a continuous evolution,” says Gawain Morrison, co-founder of marketing software firm Sensum.

To make sure they keep pace, retailers have to build an intimate understanding of how customers interact with their website. While consumer research and analytics goes some way to helping understand what users want, the results can be subjective and focus solely on page views.

Wearable technology, however, is changing this. Gadgets like smart glasses equipped with eye-tracking technology can be combined with sweat response sensors to capture real-time reactions. These enable companies to understand the automatic and unconscious physical reactions their audience has to messages, content and the overall user experience.

Rather than designing a website and doing big overhauls, Morrison advises that retailers make small improvements to their online offer regularly: “Retailers should build an early version of their website and test it with real users. Using a combination of traditional and modern customer research techniques, add in features and refinements based on feedback before it’s launched.

“Crucially, retailers should then maintain an ongoing feedback process, allowing the website to be continuously improved. Release early and update often.”