The Digitization Of Retail

Embracing Smarter Retail

There is this common perception that digital and in-store retail can’t coexist. While general retailers and small businesses struggle to compete with the big box stores, their is a looming fear that eCommerce will eventually eliminate the need for physical retail altogether.

Why must only one survive?

New Retail

Big online retailers like Amazon and Alibaba are moving towards traditional retail by opening more brick and mortar stores. This initiative from the biggest eCommerce retailers shows that digital and physical shopping does not have to be exclusive; there is value in having both realms of shopping. Alibaba's idea of "New Retail" is the complete digitization of all commerce using technology to power in store experiences. This means that you can shop in store and online at the same time, enabling situations where shoppers can order their size if the store doesn’t have it, or test drive a car at the click of a button.

On & Offline Shopping Hybrid

The key to keeping traditional retail alive is adopting this hybrid concept. New Retail gives the consumer a good balance between in-store immediacy with technological efficiencies. The digitization of retail does not have to mean the end of your small business. On the contrary, these tools will be widely available to facilitate smarter business operations to better compete against big box retailers!

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