The retail landscape has changed considerably in the last few years, forcing businesses to transform their sales strategy to stay afloat. Organizations are compelled to lean on newer technologies to increase sales. The change is also a result of consumers preferring online shopping to offline. Here are a few trends:
Faster Shipping
According to Forbes, the current shipping wait time has gone down by a day, when compared to 2018. What does this suggest? Retail businesses are in a race to improve delivery times. People want their deliveries in the shortest possible time and they will prefer a business that will make this happen. Smart supply chains that leverage the power of IoT and analytics will lead the way.
Subscription e-Commerce
Subscription commerce is another technology-led trend that has been growing exponentially. Here, customers, rather than purchasing a single product, subscribe to a constant supply of it. The best example is Dollar Shaving Club, which delivers shaving essentials to it members on a monthly basis. Founded in 2011 with a seed investment of $1 million, it was recently acquired by an FMCG biggie for a whopping 1 billion. The trend indicates that people are willing to fork out money to get the experience they prefer.
Personalized Shopping
The use of artificial intelligence and big data in e-commerce has proven to be a huge hit. The reason is simple – consumers prefer relevant purchase suggestions to irrelevant ones. According to a study, more than 63% of consumers feel that retailers do not know what they want. The writing on the wall is clear. Retailers need to listen to what their consumers want and leverage technology to make it happen.
Shopping on Social Media
Mobile phones have transformed shopping behavior throughout the world. With people spending huge amounts of time on social media, shopping on them or simply checking out the products is getting popular. Online retailers are already taking advantage of social analytics and reaping big benefits.
Experiential Commerce
People, especially millennials, are focusing more on experiences than material. The preference for ‘retail experience’ has led to integration of new technologies with traditional shopping. Concept stores like Amazon Go are already testing waters by offering unhindered, unmanned shopping experiences. This technology-enabled twist to the age-old way of shopping in brick and mortar stores will get more popular in the days to come.
The prevailing demographic is changing rapidly. By 2020, tech-savvy millennials will form the biggest chunk of consumers in the market. Retail businesses must evolve to suit their needs, if they are to stay relevant.
The way forward? Partner with the right technology expert like ITC Infotech. What retailers need today is our technological expertise and the practitioner’s knowledge of the industry that our parent group, ITC, brings to the table.
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