Retail 2025 - The dynamics of future retail: Adarsh Noronha

Authored by Adarsh Noronha, Country Manager, Oracle Marketing Cloud

The advent of new technologies over the past few years has reshaped the retail industry for both consumers and the retailers. From brick and mortar retail to e-commerce, the digital world has infiltrated the traditional way of retailing and armed shoppers with gadgets that promise new set of customer experience. The retailers who will thrive in the new age of digitalization, will have to redefine their stores and adopt new methods to delight customers and enhance the retail experience.

Embrace the future of retail

The physical store model has dominated retail for centuries. But in the digital era, everything is changing. The lines between supplier, manufacturer, and retailer are blurring. Digital transformation is happening – your data in the retail industry lends more insight to the state of the transition. Every business is becoming a digital business empowered by new software initiatives such as AI, Robotics and IoT.

The biggest trend shifts that digitalization brought in retail was e-commerce. Convenience of getting the products delivered within 3-4 business days has changed the way shoppers perceive retail experience today. 25 percent of shoppers would abandon buying from a certain ecommerce platform if there is no next day delivery. Retailers are already considering two-hour drone delivery service foreseeable in the future owing to the emerging technologies being accessible. Amazon is talking about fastest delivery time of 30 minutes using drone delivery. The access to a variety of online features from personal recommendations, reviews from other shoppers to product availability, free exchange and refund policies, have made today’s shopper more powerful in terms of making purchase decision.

The findings of a recent study Retail 2025, conducted by Oracle, examine how the disruptive technologies will impact the future retail experiences and shape consumer behavior in the year to come. Insights from the Oracle Retail 2025 study highlight that consumers are most willing to engage brands with new technology if they feel that they are in control of their experience. Consumers have a conservative appetite for retail technologies that requires deep personal data to make decisions on their behalf. This mandates brands to focus on building a strong foundation to win trust for gathering customer data. Warm attitudes toward utilizing virtual reality and receiving recommendations for custom-made accessories produced with 3D printing points to consumers’ willingness to adopt new technologies if they are in control of their experience.

Personalization is the key

Personalization, customization and localization are seen as transformative trends for the future of retail. Consumers are wary about volunteering data necessary for personalization but still look for a tailored experience, reinforcing the need for stronger brand relationships. On the flipside; there is a clear difference in consumer expectation for retailers to make data available and customize information about components, origin and recalls to their specific buying patterns. According to Oracle’s Retail 2025 research, 46 percent of respondents indicated that receiving real-time alerts on current product recalls, and time since last recall by a manufacturer, based on previous purchase history would improve their experience. Convenience is key in the new age and payment efficiency; integrated systems and immediate gratification will only continue to dominate as speed and ease of use become the major buying influencers.

Competitive advantage

Customer experience is potentially the biggest competitive advantage for any retailer right now. For retailers to drive this seamlessly, digital platforms and applications are central to everything that is in-store and available online to the customer. Disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence, chatbots and machine learning enable customers to gain more detail on products, which can be used to track customer decisions and offer a more intimate experience. Data-driven insights and analytics can convert browsing details to recommendations customized for each consumer, understanding the digital footprint of the shopper.

 

Marketing
@adgully

News in the domain of Advertising, Marketing, Media and Business of Entertainment

More in Marketing