Power of Digital Solutions in Retail

The importance of digital transformation in retail: How to achieve it and why?

The retail environment has never been more competitive than it is now, with customers ruling the market. Personalized and unique digital solutions in retail provide an experience that will grab their attention as well as their wallets.

However, retailers are slower in adopting new technology that allows them to change. They must change with their customers, as they will not accept changes. They will soon be perceived as boring or insignificant, which can help retailers.

So how can you engage a technologically savvy and selective customer? How can a retailer distinguish themselves from their competitors and provide the extraordinary experiences customers desire?

Answer: Digital Transformation.

Retail Innovation Technology

Simply put, Digital solutions in retail refer to the idea that businesses should adopt new technologies and business models to empower their employees and increase productivity. Microsoft defines digital transformation as “The realignment, or investment, in new technology, business model, and processes to drive customer value and employees more effectively in an ever-changing digital economy.” This doesn’t just apply to one industry, but to all industries marginally affected.

Think about all the ways that digital transformation manifests itself in the retail industry.

• Retailers offer customers omnichannel shopping and delivery options
• A mobile device allows customers to access stores anywhere they are in the world within a matter of seconds.
• Social media has been a major form of advertising.
• Artificial intelligence and augmented reality are becoming commonplace in the shopping experience.
• Retailers use data analytics, machine learning, and other methods to inform their major business decisions.

It’s clear to see how important digital transformation is for the retail industry. Therefore, it’s crucial that you as a retailer understand how it works in your business strategy.

Digital Transformation: The 4 Pillars

1. Customer Engagement

Customer Engagement is the core of every retail industry activity as businesses depend on satisfied customers to improve their bottom lines.

Retailers can communicate with customers more effectively thanks to technological advances like that.

With Customer Relationship Management (CRM), you can elevate your business and customer relations to the next level. CRMs allow you to analyze customer data and gain granular insight into customer preferences and behavior. In order to offer a more personal and high-quality customer experience, you can use the CRM’s insights to help you develop targeted marketing campaigns.

2. Employee Empowerment

Employee Empowerment means instilling confidence in your employees and equipping them with the knowledge, skills, tools, and abilities they need to do their jobs well. Employees can access detailed customer information through a CRM to gain insight into their customers’ behavior.

3. Optimize Your Operations

The third pillar of digital retail transformation, optimizing operations, emphasizes fast, data-driven decision-making, streamlined workflows, and greater operational visibility across all channels. Integration is crucial in the age of e-commerce. Organizations work across multiple channels. To provide seamless, omnichannel customer experiences, your business must be consistent in its operations.

Start by setting up an ERP system to encourage integration and remove the barriers between applications and provide a holistic view of cross-channel operations.

4. Reimagine Your Products

It is important to constantly keep your eyes open for new innovations to improve your products. This is a much simpler procedure than you might assume. To make it happen, you’ll only need the necessary software and tools.

Software and systems that use predictive analytics should be prioritized to get the best ROI as systems combine data from ERP, CRM, and BI to provide predictive analytics that can detect potential failures and take preventive or reparative actions.

Digitalization: Digital Solutions in Retail: Advanced Technologies and Benefits for the Industry

The three main areas of digital transformation in retail are business models, customer services, and business processes. Management staff, specialists, and business owners realize that modern technology is essential to maintaining market position in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

These are the trends that will influence retail in the near future:

1. You can customize your product which means that everyone can have their own product.
2. Marketing customization offers based upon a multilateral analysis and personal preferences.
3. Big data in retail is not only used for recommendation services. This innovation allows for product selection, product placement on shelves, and better monitoring of product availability. Big Data can also be used by retailers to better determine product prices.
4. You can also consume jointly and can access any product as an option.
5. You can shop in real-time. This allows customers to place orders and retailers to ship products quickly.
6. Augmented and virtual reality can enhance customer interaction and improve the user experience in retail, as well as techs, can improve consumer interaction and enable you to access more customer data.
7. Higher automation levels for complex processes and multichannel interaction with customers.
8. The future retail industry will be automated and the human factor gradually eliminated.
9. People want a seamless brand experience. This trend is more prominent in the age of digital transformation. These digital trends, such as visual product search and online shopping, are quickly gaining popularity.

What technological advancements will enable digital solutions in retail to prosper in this new normal?

Enterprise Digital Solutions

Sales Floor Assistant App

Sales staff with easy access are more inclined than others to assist customers.

Mobile POS

Retailers are now empowering employees with mPOS devices in order to promote Linebusting.

Inventory app

This app allows you to monitor real-time inventory information. This has led to better customer service as well as increased brand loyalty.

In-Store Audits Apps

In-Store audits can have the ability to take images of violations and provide proof. This increases accountability.

Dashboard App

These apps aim to provide dashboard information to CXOs so they can have a “bird’s-eye view” of the entire organization.

Self-service HRMS App

Employees can access and manage HR-related information. This includes personal information, salary information, access to information updates, checking out applications for employment, etc.

Consumer Digital Solutions

Mobile Commerce App

Mobile devices, such as iPad and iPhones, have opened up new avenues for commerce.

In-Store Catalogue App

Retailers can empower customers with In-Store Catalogue Applications that can be accessed via their smartphone devices.

Inventory app

This app allows you to monitor real-time inventory information as this will result in improved customer service and greater brand loyalty.

In-Store Navigation App

Customers are often less loyal to retailers than they were previously. They will abandon stores if they cannot find the product they need.

Location-based Advertising App

There is an increased need to increase sales and attract customers with the increasing retail sector.

Price Listing App

This application allows customers more information to make informed purchases and product selections.

Retail Trends 2021

• Covid-19 Impact: A surprising half of respondents stated that COVID-19 had an insignificant positive impact on their ICT budgets.
• Retailers are laser-focused on customers. Retailers are making concerted efforts to develop single views of customers and provide customized experiences via digital and physical channels.
• They are now focusing on customers by using data and analytics to better understand them and AI-powered processes for delivering what they want.
• Security for retailers is one of their 4 top business objectives and their biggest ICT strategic challenge in 2021.
• The importance of ecosystems is increasing. More than 3/4 of respondents agreed that sharing data with customers, partners, and other retailers benefits them.

Are you ready to improve your retail tech stack?

Get in contact with us if you’re seeking retail technology as you can manage any project of Digital solutions in retail using BRISK services; from identifying new technological solutions to assuring a successful implementation, BRISK simplifies and streamlines the process.