1. Rethinking the physical shop
The store is no longer just a place to buy things. It has a role to play as a showroom, a customer service centre, a click and collect pick-up point. It has become an essential complement to the online experience.
Innovative technologies are playing a major role in defining the new in-store experience. Retailers are looking to virtual and augmented reality in particular to excite customers and showcase their products in new ways.
48 percent of consumers believe virtual reality is the future of shopping.
Source: Worldpay69 percent of customers expect retailers to have AI tools by end of March 2018
Source: Business Insider report2. Outmanoeuvring Goliath
With deep pockets, the power and scale to drive down prices and a sky’s the limit approach to distribution and supply chain management, the online Goliaths have both the will and the muscle to shape the retail sector.
But these companies are merely platforms. Many people will continue to vote with their wallets and buy from online marketplaces, but an equally large proportion of shoppers want more from the retail experience.
eMarketer recently predicted that Amazon will soon command nearly 50 percent of America’s ecommerce market.
Source: eMarketer
3. Making the supply chain sing
Retailers need a modern supply chain that makes the unpredictable more predictable
and that caters to every channel used by today's customers, and they need to take a
closer look at their operational data to achieve this.
PCA Predict reveals that 65 percent of retailers across the US, Germany and the UK incur significant costs due to late or failed deliveries.
Source: PCA£3.9 BILLION
Retailers in the UK alone lost £3.9 billion due to late deliveries over the 2016 winter holiday period.
4. Empowering employees
Retailers can either differentiate themselves on price or service. Once a customer is in your store, service becomes your trump card, and you better make sure your employees are ready to deliver.
Shoppers choose where to buy from based on the quality of service they receive, and retail employees need the tools and training to deliver on people's rising expectations.
5. Weighing disruption against customer needs
Disruption is a constant in
the retail industry
Companies such as Dollar Shave Club, Birch Box, and Hello Fresh have proven that subscription-based retail is a viable business model, and established retailers are rightfully exploring ways to compete.
Our children's children are not going to believe the way we used to shop for groceries. They'll say: "Wait, you used to drive to an actual shop, push a trolley around trying to find what you needed, then load all the food into your car and drive back home to unload it all over again? You wasted your precious time on the planet doing that?!!!”
William Grimsey, Former CEO of Wickes, Iceland, and ParknShop Hong Kong