The role of technology, ecosystems and customer experience in powering the digital acceleration of the retail industry
Sanjeev Seshagiri Athreya, Head of Retail & Commerce Practice and Anitha Rajagopalan, Domain Specialist at Thoughtworks
A customer walks into a retail store, the store’s staff aided by digital technologies knows if the person is an existing customer or a new one. The staff, aided by knowledge of the customer's online cart, begins to meaningfully engage with the customer. This is augmented reality in action – an effective tool integrating online-offline shopping experiences.
The retail space has been witnessing a global shift in consumer behavior, enabled by technology and accelerated by the pandemic. In 2021, the Adobe Digital Economy Index, Q1 2021 estimated online spending on eCommerce could touch USD 4.2 trillion; equivalent to a top-five country based on GDP.
Today, global retailers are laser focused on adapting to evolving customer behavior. They seek to go beyond the silos of segments, channels, touchpoints and even operating models. Forward thinking retailers are investing in foundational platforms to accelerate capability development, scale and adapt. In addition, the pioneers are strengthening their supply chain with increased automation, enabling faster fulfillment and building resilience.
Over the course of this decade, customers will become omnipresent and to provide them with a seamless omnichannel shopping experience, retailers will progressively adopt digital technologies at scale. This omnichannel-led retail experience of the future requires clever synergy between online and offline shopping. It will be hyper personalized, use relevant customer data while being sensitive to privacy concerns and combining the right play of technology and human intervention.
Here is how technology is transforming retail for the foreseeable future: