How is Technology Enhancing the Efficiency of Retail Companies?

By: Retail CIO Outlook | Monday, July 20, 2020

Incorporation of technology has helped retail to improve its speed, agility, and efficiency as expected in today’s market.

FREMONT, CA: Technology has altered the retail industry beyond recognition. Currently, every customer is an online customer, from teenagers to grandparents. With the continuous evolution of digital channels, platforms, and devices continue to evolve, consumer behaviors also develop similarly. The consumers of today are digitally savvy, and many have become experts in navigating the omnichannel landscape. They have become channel-agnostic because of being accustomed to being everywhere at once, and they are turning the traditional concepts of the linear customer journey upside down in every turn. According to a report, 54 percent of the consumers in the US believe that the customer experience in most of the companies needs to improve further.

Providing great retail experience will help accelerate customer conversions, foster brand loyalty, and generate future revenue, to attain this seamless transaction throughout a complex set of customer-facing activities is required. The essential part is to create a customer experience that serves as a competitive differentiator.

Management of Data

Every brand has a different road to a unified 360-degree customer view. Brands need to formulate a customer data strategy that fits its current capabilities and aligns with its long-term business objectives. Basic customer demographics and traditional customer segments are not enough to reach today’s diverse audience. Audience segmentation and delivering an individualized omnichannel customer experience needs an extended set of attributes, from a wider variety of data sources, all in one place. On consolidating the data correctly, the brands can create a unified 360-degree consumer profile, including demographics, psychographics, behavioral tendencies, social preferences, and more, resulting in helping a brand deliver individualized customer communications, deeper engagement, and experiences which move them to conversion.

Establishing Trust

Tension can be seen growing between consumers wanting more control of their data and their expressed desire for more personalized experiences. Although it appears to be contradictory, in reality, it provides an opportunity for the retailers to be more strategic regarding the data they obtain and how it is leveraged. The company that communicates transparently to the customers about the information it collects has the opportunity to gain more customer goodwill than the brands that remain passive or non-communicative about privacy initiatives.

To conclude, providing consistent, personalized, and compelling throughout the customer journey and that will result in satisfied customers who are ready to spend more, remain loyal to the brand, and generate long-lasting revenue streams for the retailers.