Read this analysis of Microsoft Cloud for Retail (MCFR), a catalyst for much-desired accelerated Digital Transformation tailored to the retail industry.
Join the DZone community and get the full member experience. 2020 was the year in which we experienced disruptive changes at a pace and a scale that we could never have imagined. COVID-19 caused disruptions in product supply and demand, in the labor pool, and consumer spending. But it also allowed many sectors to embrace digitalization like never before. Retail is 31% of the world’s GDP, and that data is the demand signal for the world. In 2020, the retail industry faced challenges but also opportunities. First, the retail sector accelerated the already underway transition from physical retail to e-commerce quickly. Retailers who invested in digital technology were better equipped to deal with this shift and stay connected with existing customers while attracting new ones. For example, during the pandemic, retailers accelerated their digitalization process to overcome disruptions in product supply and demand, consumer spending, etc. Microsoft Cloud for Retail (MCFR) can help the retail industry adapt and build digital resilience in the most trying of circumstances. Consumer anxiety about the virus and infection increased shelter-in-place orders, and consumers shifted to online channels. In the coming years, driving unique in-store experiences will become even more critical. Now consumers expect personalization at an unprecedented scale. Social style, tastes, and preferences are no longer declared but learned in real-time through the “digital exhaust” they create as they navigate their virtual and physical worlds. The new consumer responds to a one-to-one approach, both in-store and online. To deliver this custom personalized experience at scale, retailers need to leverage connected solutions, AI, and real-time observations to create 360-degree customer profiles. It is necessary to deliver the insightful, safe, and efficient shopping experiences that consumers expect. By seamlessly integrating web and app-based digital channels into the in-store experience, retailers can elevate customers’ purchase journeys and power end-to-end omnichannel analytics capabilities. As consumer expectations shift at an unprecedented scale, retailers need to ensure: Retailers empowered their workforces through connected solutions, tools, and technology to safely optimize customer service levels. The Covid-19 crisis and online shift demand flexible resource allocation to deploy labor across a broader range of activities. This will drive new models of collaboration between retailers and their stakeholders to address scarce capabilities and enable the labor pool to move more fluidly to meet demand across priority activities. This comes to life through Mixed Reality (MR) based training tools and real-time communications between executives, managers, and frontline employees via connected portals and devices, eliminating lags between corporate policies and company-wide adoption. Additionally, retailers are tapping into tools to retrain store associates for telecommunication and digitally based customer service positions. In addition to flexibility and Digital Fluency enablement, Retailers need to: Covid-19 has led to a paradigm shift in the shopping patterns of consumers.75% of U.S. buyers report new shopping behaviors, such as changing brands or retailers based on value for money, and globally,50% of customers have tried new brands. Buyers are now relying more on online stores and demanding contactless pickup of purchases. Companies that shifted their businesses online and took advantage of digital technology thrived well during the pandemic by building customer loyalty, which attracted many new consumers. Retailers now need to: The adoption of technology in enabling sustainable initiatives and optimizing operations is paramount. From a personal safety perspective, the future consumer will demand transparency throughout the entire shopper journey and know where a product was sourced.
