Prepare for the future of shopping

The pressures of competition and the range of digital shopping solutions will most likely force retailers to reconsider the value of their original operating formats.

Many of today‘s major retailers are transitioning from their original business models into non-traditional, typically smaller store formats – operating a multitude of physical footprints, all aimed at pleasing their target customer in a variety of shopping modes.

In fact, these footprints may not involve physical stores at all but be temporal in nature, such as pop-us stores or solely online.

Brick-and-mortar retailers will always be leveraged for immediate and acute needs and need to be in close proximity to shoppers to remain successful.

Additionally, as Australians continue to travel overseas, their experience with shopping is changed and they return with customer service expectations which Australian retailers must meet to stay ahead.

According to a recent article in Power Retail, below are some of the key challenges (and tips) that retailers face in the changing Australian retail landscape.

Offline versus in-store

“Customers decide how they wish to interact with brands or services these days, and dictating to customers, or removing choice, only drives customers away and reflects badly on the customer experience.”

Greater personalisation

“With personalisation tools like beacons and loyalty apps, retailers can customise various aspects of their shopping journeys, from tailored recommendations and personalised in-store experiences, to customised rewards and more.”

Fast delivery

“Whether a customer has purchased in-store or online, they want to be able to either take their purchases away or have them delivered to their home or workplace the same or next day.”

Online should be easy

“Keep investing in your online and mobile offerings and make the experience as relevant and as easy as possible for the customer.”

Great customer service

“Whether the customer shops online, via mobile or in-store, the service has to be great. Customers expect to receive great customer service regardless of which channel they use.”

Shopping should be fun

“Overseas department stores such as Selfridges, Le Bon Marché and Galeries Lafayette use celebrities, fashion parades and art shows—rather than price-based promotions—to lure customers into stores.”

Due to the influence of technological advances and consumer demands for what and where consumers buy products, managing the demand chain is now an imperative for stronger growth.

Moving forward, closer integration of the demand and supply chains will be needed to maximize value and drive profitable growth.

Retailers need to integrate themselves seamlessly into their shoppers’ replenishment processes, and best-in-class retailers will always find ways to act as a bridge between real-time consumer data and the rest of the supply chain.

Whatever your ‘channel’, if you are losing conversions due to your online channels or problems in inventory visibility, and would like to learn from the multichannel retailers who have mastered store based fulfilment, Akolade invites you to join us for our 3^rd Annual Online Retail Supply Chain Summit.

After finishing University with a degree in Business Marketing, I decided to make a big jump across seas for the first time and move from the east coast of America to Sydney, Australia. I landed my first job in a sales position in the event industry and soon thereafter moved into a marketing assistant role – following I had the pleasure of interviewing with Akolade which got me to where I am today.

Akolade is a fun, innovative company that brings together people from different walks of life to implement change. As the Marketing Manager, I have the pleasure of wearing many hats which motivates me to succeed, reach people in an array of avenues, grow our events to their full potential, and raise our story. As for me, I am a kind dedicated woman who loves to work hard, exercise, cook, be social and have some fun.