Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a huge uptake of digital solutions for commercial and personal purposes. Also, there is a steady shift from traditional buying habits to digital ones. That’s right!
Digital transformation has had a huge impact across the retail industry. It is prompting retailers to rethink their approach and tweak their customer journeys to respond effectively in these challenging times.
The ongoing health crisis has made one thing clear – plunge before you perish. As a result, retailers are weaving in adaptability and adopting new business models in the current retail climate.
Through this article, let’s look at the specifics that can help retail companies to deepen their foundations and expand their digital footprint.
Here is what we will cover;
This year, capitalizing on the transformation is the key — especially when physical locations are in question to build and maintain the flexibility that is demanded of doing business today. The changing consumer behavior will also greatly impact the value in retail for the foreseeable future. The listed trends will not only help you engage better with customers but will also offer insights into optimizing processes.
Leverage our technology expertise to take your retail business to a whole other level of efficiency.
Retail businesses with digital transformation programs have achieved a medium level of agility, flexibility and responsiveness. Going forward, we foresee retailers in different stages of their digital transformation journey:
Let’s now understand the technologies that support digital transformation in the retail industry. These advanced tools and applications help companies make better decisions and be more responsive to changing market demands.
A significant transformation was brought forth by Big data analytics, location-based services & mobile apps in the way retailers conduct business today. However, the path to digital transformation would have to face certain challenges.
While these challenges seem difficult to overcome, retailers must take the digital route to drive growth & sustain in an ever-evolving market. So, what should be your digital transformation strategy? Let’s take a look.
Now that you understand the strategy to implement, let’s look at some examples of digital transformation in retail. These insights will help you understand how the biggest of brands have leveraged leading-edge technologies to take their business to new heights. The adoption of these technologies has been taking place well before the pandemic. Especially since they accelerate the experiential shopping experience.
Here are some ways you can plan your digital-first journey:
One of the biggest British cosmetic retailers that set up shop in Japan is now an abode for shoppers. Here customers engage in in-store activity and get information about all products without reaching out to the staff. The store sells bath bombs of all shapes, sizes and colors. Shoppers also get to choose from a variety of fragrances. By scanning a bath bomb, customers receive more information about the product like its name, benefits, ingredients, properties and visuals. With a huge population of digital natives, this app took off and increased the sales of bath bombs by 30%.
An American sports apparel & equipment giant set up a flagship store for customers who do not particularly enjoy physical shopping. It unlocked convenience and transformed customer experience all through a mobile app. With this feature on the app, customers can reserve shoes online that they can try at the store.
The studio provides shoppers personalized lockers which they can unlock with their smartphone. Of course, they have a mobile checkout system where shoppers do not have to stand in a queue. This store attracted flocks of tourists and fans of the brand who tapped into this new experience. This app was a success and the sales shot up by 40%.
A Spanish apparel giant integrated AR technology into its stores with in-store AR zones and exterior window displays. It brought fashion to the floors of select stores. Customers were asked to stand in front of a specific area where they would use their phone as a lens in front of a sensor. Models would then flash on their phone screens who wore the latest collection. It would give shoppers styling tips and a chance to explore new styles that they never did in the past. Even their eCommerce shoppers got the chance to explore the newly rolled out AR technology. With enhanced customer engagement, this ‘shop-the-look’ feature resulted in 20% increased sales.
The door of digital transformation is knocking and it wants retailers to answer. It is the only way that companies explore new ways to serve customers, tap on business opportunities and thrive in an ever-evolving market. However, that does not mean shunning physical stores. The idea is to provide a seamless online and offline experience that helps you emerge as an even stronger player.
We hope after reading the above technologies and their use cases the obvious question must be how to get started. As a retailer, you will require an effective digital transformation strategy that meets the changing demands of consumers and the marketplace. The easiest and fastest way to initiate and conclude that is to find the right technology partner. A partner with the right technical understanding, infrastructure and industry know-how can assist in transforming the business inside and out.
Over the years, we have developed our knowledge by associating with retail companies of all sizes. That’s why we understand the retail landscape from the ground up and have supported the growth of businesses. Our seasoned developers understand what machine learning, data analytics, IoT & other technologies can do for your businesses.
Rishabh Software develops innovative custom retail solutions that help you expand your business.