"New Year, New Me" is the phrase many people enter January with, motivated to make some kind of positive change for the year ahead. For retailers, it's more than a mantra — it's a mindset to evolve and cater to changing consumer needs while keeping up with market trends. January has flown by, and retailers have already started working on their priorities for 2025.
From leaning on the potential of advanced RFID solutions to incorporating AI into wider retail operations, here are four key resolutions for retailers to thrive in the new year.
A Huge Focus on Advanced RFID
In 2025, significant focus is being placed on leveraging advanced RFID to streamline different parts of the retail ecosystem. From optimizing inventory and stock management to elevating in-store experiences and personalization, brands are harnessing RFID to drive efficiency, automation, and innovation.
Another major focus is integrating RFID at checkout. By improving both speed and accuracy, RFID streamlines transactions, reducing wait times and enhancing customer convenience while boosting efficiency. With returns and retail fraud increasingly becoming a challenge, the industry is also looking at how RFID's real-time tracking capabilities can help address both.
Teamwork Commerce uses RFID technology to improve retail operations and the customer experience — from an RFID Stock Counter App that enhances inventory visibility and accuracy, to RFID-Powered Self-Checkout technology that transforms business processes and the customer experience alike.
Expanding the Use of AI
Another key priority for retailers in 2025 is expanding the use of AI to streamline operations and automate processes that were previously manual. After making significant strides in 2024, AI's role in retail will only grow, driving efficiency across customer interactions, inventory management, and overall business strategy.
While AI is becoming increasingly popular, there are real concerns about the technology disrupting jobs in the sector. It's critical to understand that AI should be leveraged to empower people, not replace them. Brands that use AI to make human jobs simpler can enhance the shopping experience while still delivering the personal human touch customers crave.
To empower its customers with AI, Teamwork Commerce is working in partnership with Google Cloud to develop new generative AI features in its mobile Point of Sale (POS) and Order Management System (OMS), enabling retailers to leverage AI alongside RFID, Mobile POS, and OMS for a more holistic approach to technology adoption.
Omnichannel: A Priority for 2025
In 2025, with hybrid shopping models such as buy online, pick-up in-store (BOPIS) growing more popular, retailers who haven't yet must focus on weaving their physical stores together with online shopping platforms to create a holistic experience for customers.
Customer shopping journeys grow more complex every year, and brands need to understand how shoppers move across different platforms to build strategies and experiences that resonate — ultimately increasing loyalty over the long term. Teamwork Commerce's Mobile POS technology lets retailers weave their online and offline platforms together, giving associates access to customers' online purchase history so they can personalize in-store interactions.
Filling the Gap in eCommerce
With evolving consumer behavior, many shoppers want associates to assist them through their shopping journey, but not all of them prefer visiting in-store — and not many online platforms offer agents to provide that same personalized assistance. In 2025, retailers have an opportunity to fill this gap, whether through virtual walkthroughs or online agents that help customers seamlessly make purchases online.
Brands deploying online agents to improve their eCommerce experience can integrate them with a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, creating a single source of information for every customer and giving e-commerce agents the visibility to analyze purchasing habits across channels and make better recommendations.
Final Recommendation
As 2025 unfolds, retailers need to be strategic about their technology choices. The market is flooded with options, making it crucial to evaluate solutions carefully. To ensure they deploy technology that delivers a real return on investment, retailers should seek live demos, verify vendor credibility, and partner with IT experts who have a proven track record in the industry.