Overview
It’s incredible just how much the retail industry has changed. Instead of perusing commercial real estate news for the latest store openings, we watch ecommerce behemoths Amazon and Alibaba battle for global territory. And digital has transformed customer expectations of brick-and-mortar stores—where nearly 40 percent of the amount sold is already influenced by the use of mobile devices.1
This shift has made it difficult for retail HR teams, who are struggling to find enough dedicated candidates for both the front- and back-ends of business. Pre-Internet-age retailers are much more likely to have a shortage of qualified talent, and admit being unprepared to address evolving customer and talent demands.2, 3
To thrive or even survive in the age of record-breaking store closures and bankruptcies, retail companies must shift from a burn-and-turn talent mindset to one that continually attracts and invests in the new white whales of recruiting: digitally skilled brand advocates with an eye on career advancement.4
“Today, relevance is based on digital and technology savvy. Store associates, corporate staff and the C-suite need to mirror the consumer—if a retailer is not versed in social and digital, it is not relevant or attractive to young, savvy customers or prospective employees.”5—PwC
This ebook explores how cloud technology can serve as the backbone of this effort. In it, you’ll learn:
- “‘Click and Connect’ with Consumer Products Consumers: Driving Purchase and Brand Loyalty in a Digital-First World,” Deloitte, 2017,
deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/consumer-business/us-cb-marketing-transformation.pdf. - “Retail Talent Disrupted,” Deloitte, 2016,
deloitte.com/us/en/pages/consumer-business/articles/retail-talent-disrupted.html - Ibid.
- Phil Wahba, “From Record Bankruptcies to Walmart's E-commerce Leaps, the Year In Retail,” Fortune, December 25, 2017,
fortune.com/2017/12/25/retail-bankrtuptcies-walmart-2017/. - “Total Retail 2017: 10 Retailer Investments for an Uncertain Future,” PwC, 2017,
pwc.com/gx/en/industries/assets/total-retail-2017.pdf.