Why Digital Transformation in Retail is More Important Now

Digital transformation (DT) is the integration of digital technologies into all areas of a company; leading to fundamental changes in the way the company operates and the value it offers its customers.?

Simply put, DT updates the way a company interacts with its customers, resulting in a unified experience.?

DT in retail has led to revolutionary changes in the industry. Some of the areas include location-based services, mobile apps, virtual shopping experiences, better intelligence and AI, to name a few.?

It has also meant the automation and digitization of existing systems, and also the introduction of developmental processes, aimed at shortening the lifecycle of system development.?

Retailers are experimenting with a myriad of ways to respond to shoppers' new expectations:

• By bridging the digital and physical shopping experience
• Exploring ways to transform the retail experience
• Managing back-office processes

And much more.?

Several chains opened concept stores to see how consumers interact with certain technologies and services. The successful results of these then roll out to the flagship stores.

Innovative retailers work with partners to leverage the latest supply chain optimization technologies and tools. These can streamline processes and better serve their omni-channel customers.?

Retailers today can improve their products, processes, facilities and customer experiences via DT. This results in continuous improvement in sales, customer retention, with the enormous benefit of increased sales from the same customer.

We are also witnessing the development of many interesting and lucrative business relationships.? These have developed from the integration into collaborative ecosystems and relationships, not only with other retailers, but also platforms, marketplaces,? and other innovative partners

This has enabled retailers to expand existing capabilities, support new business models, and offer new products and services to meet changing customer needs.?

Significant changes in customer behavior and purchasing behavior due to COVID-19 have revealed weaknesses in traditional retail business models. Investments in digital workplaces and virtual environments have shown significant competitive advantages that have increased a company’s revenue.?

Before the current COVID 19 environment, the retail model focused on product-oriented marketing and sales, but that focus has shifted. The objective is now to bring the product to the customer and, at the same time, improve their loyalty and satisfaction. Most importantly, this is achieved by offering products and services tailored to customer needs.?

Also due to the pandemic, there is no turning back from a model point of view.?

Customer experience is a key focus for the DT in retail. This is a multi-channel sales approach that offers its customers a unique shopping experience. When asked what factors influence business decisions to implement a DT strategy, almost half of companies cited customer experience and satisfaction as the most important factors.????

The customer-centric experience is one of the many products of a company’s DT. It is important to remember that offering one type of digital convenience, it doesn’t make up for bad experiences in other areas.?

Take banking for instance. Even though you can deposit checks with a picture rather than wait in line, this does not make for an end-to-end seamless banking experience. Try calling most banks; speaking to a live person to help you, is the exception rather than the rule.?

There is one important thing customers should understand. They are more informed than ever before, and their fingers need to search and scroll to the e-retailer who:

• Can provide the product they want
• At the price, they are willing to pay
• And the shopping experience they want to have?

The bottom line, make it easy for customers to do business and you will keep them for the long term.

#hypergrowth #ceos #executivepositions #chiefexecutiveofficer #saassales