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There has been a shift in the paradigm of how retail firms, irrespective of their sizes, run their operations with the advancements of retail-tech and fintech. But this is just the beginning of what the future of retail entails.
FREMONT, CA: Being one of the largest spread industries across the world, retail has embraced the massive changes that technology has brought in other segments, with an equal rate of adoption. There has been a shift in the paradigm of how retail firms, irrespective of their sizes, run their operations with the help of advancements in retail-tech and fintech. But this is just the beginning of what the future of retail entails. Here are a few trends that are going to shape the physical retail in the next couple of years.
Physical Retail over e-Commerce
Online shopping platforms have overthrown the physical retail by adopting two basic metrics - discounted price and wide range of selection. Right since the inception, e-Commerce has been successful in price leadership by offering unbelievable discounts and offers, something that fragmented retail found challenging to compete. Physical stores have also failed to match the wide range of collections that online platform proffers the buyers through the product catalog. Now, with the adoption of new technologies, physical retail can fight the challenges by creating superior pricing propositions and more extensive selection in-store. The conversion rates can also be improved by offering better prices over online platforms. Virtual Inventory is one such tool that helps retailers to provide massive selection overall online platforms.
Customer Experience on Priority
E-commerce has undoubtedly brought a revolution with online shopping when it comes to customer experience. But the involvement or engagement rate is still high for physical retailers. Consumes across the world still prefer in-store assistance from a salesman while purchasing high-value products. Physical retailers have rightly recognized the opportunity and are riding on it by providing customers an engaging and educative experience in physical stores for an assured and informed buying decisions.
Power of Social Media
A report by US-based Big Commerce says that around 11.8 percent of Millennial shop on Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, while 25 percent of baby boomers shop on all the social platforms taken together. These trends may seem normal to read, but when decoded, the results are disruptive. Moreover, the trend will only see an increase with more extensive internet penetration and becoming part of the everyday life of a massive chunk of the population. Brands have an immense opportunity here to understand the demography of their user and have a significant scope to tap this opportunity well.
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