The only constant in life is change. And that is a fact that brick & mortar stores have had to adopt in a hurry as customers are preferring to do their shopping online. This change has only accelerated due to the Covid-19 pandemic as retailers had to adapt their business models to get around quarantines and restrictions on in-store shopping. To survive, brick & mortar stores have had to adopt digital transformation strategies. Let’s look at what digital transformation actually means for brick and mortar stores.
1) More and more consumers will do their shopping online
Life after the pandemic is going to be different. Consumer demands, saving patterns, buying channels, shopping habits, and spending channels are in the middle of a transition. A multi-fold surge in online shopping is expected to happen, and in-store purchases may go down. As a result, brick & mortar stores must plan for successful and effective digital transformation.
2) Digital transformation will affect the hiring process of brick & mortar stores
Brick & mortar stores will need to have access to people who know IT skills. They can do this in two ways. One is recruiting IT savvy staff and constantly training them to stay updated, which may increase their overall expenditure. The other is to take the help of IT support services, for example those in San Diego, which will help stores to save on fixed costs.
3) Brick & mortar stores will need deep insights regarding their supply chains
The Covid-19 pandemic has shown that supply chains across the globe are really vulnerable. Brick & mortar stores have been adversely affected since many of them haven’t been able to predict or meet customer demand for the products they sell. As a result, customers who went to buy a product in such a store had to go back disappointed. Such experiences may result in customers shifting brands altogether. In the future, retailers will need to plan their inventory well in advance and provide a better offline and online customer experience.
4) Digital technology implementation will help enhance the customer experience
Digital technologies that can help enhance the customer experience will be game changers in brick & mortar stores. Examples of these are the use of kiosks, in-store tablets, location-based-services, augmented/virtual reality, and 3-D printing. All these are helpful in increasing shopper convenience and improving the customer-product match. This in turn will help enhance the overall customer experience.
5) Personalization in customer experiences is the future in the retail industry
Customers have started to expect tech-driven personalization in their interactions with services such as Amazon, Spotify, and Netflix. As a result, consumers have started to expect a similar user-experience in brick & mortar stores. They expect companies to anticipate and provide their wants and needs in real-time. Customers are more likely to buy, either online or in-store, from a purchaser that offers them more options based upon their past purchases.
6) Retailers are turning to data analytics to meet customer expectations
With the retail market becoming more competitive each day, it has become essential for brick & mortar stores to optimize their business processes to meet customer expectations. As a result, the proper use of data analytics has become invaluable in the retail industry. Data analytics is already being implemented at various stages of retailing, from forecasting sales, keeping track of emerging products, and predicting future demand. It can also help in optimizing the placement of products and offers with the help of customer heat-mapping and also handle such customers by targeted marketing campaigns.
In Summary
Digital transformation has become essential for brick & mortar stores to stay relevant in today’s world. Retailers should have an effective digital transformation strategy that will meet the rapidly changing needs of customers.
