What’s really going on in retail? Bankruptcies and store closures splash across front pages, while at the same time Amazon and Walmart make headlines with their latest and greatest innovations. To determine what is really going on in retail, a recent retail technology study produced by Retail Info Systems with research partner Gartner and sponsored by Kibo, received results from 90 retailers on the following:
- annual sales volume,
- primary business model,
- top obstacles over the next 18 months,
- top technology driven strategies over the next 18 months,
- stage of their organization’s digital transformation, and more.
It was found that 77% of retailers did not achieve the average gain recorded for the overall industry in 2017. They either went backwards, stayed the same, or registered a sub-par increase.
Despite this finding, it was concluded that no, retail is not going extinct, but instead is experiencing an evolutionary event. The study encourages retailers to jump on the big opportunities and strong headwinds accelerating the pace of unified commerce and digital transformation.
From the study, “Amazon is not the asteroid that struck planet retail. Competitive pressures from disruptive, pure-play e-commerce players and new physical retailing models are causing radical changes to antiquated business models, driving down prices and driving up costs. Retailers are rightfully concerned about how to accomplish the herculean task of transforming a traditional, multichannel retailer into a digitally enabled provider of unified retail commerce.
To combat market share erosion and take advantage of the opportunities offered by digital transformation, multichannel retailers need to recognize that their extensive network of stores can be part of an effective, unified commerce strategy. Expanding unified commerce initiatives takes the number one spot on our list of top technology strategies pursued over the next 18 months.”
The top four technology driven strategies over the next 18 months are:
- Expanding unified commerce (omnichannel) initiatives 54%
- Leveraging social media engagement 54%
- Increasing customer engagement 51%
- Developing personalized marketing capabilities 47%
More and more we see the need to focus on the customer experience. This focus is represented in all three strategies above, as retailers aim to connect with consumers wherever they may be.
To learn more from this report download it now.
