Building Next-gen Technology Retail Solutions For Hybrid Bharat

Diwali this year has been a dream come true for India’s retail industry, the world’s fifth largest. After two years of muted sales, the extended festival season resulted in increased demand for everything –gold, cars, consumer durables and clothing.

However, this year was different in that a large chunk of the Diwali shopping happened online. That could be the beginning of a longer-term change in Indian shopping habits. As an omnichannel retail strategy starts to emerge, the consumer experience will become easier and better. This will be driven by the adoption of technology solutions. As digital solutions spread, it will spread from metropolitan cities to small-town India too. In the major cities, millennials with greater spending power and an affinity to adopt technological innovations are driving the push of retail technology.

The two years of the pandemic have changed the expectations of the Indian consumer dramatically. The digital buyer of today seeks a fast, responsive and frictionless experience as they switch between channels. Post-pandemic, consumers expect quick purchases, a wide array of products, and shopping inspired by social media trends. Consumer priority has shifted towards an era where the need for hyper-personalization is prompting retailers to utilize disruptive technologies.

Retail tech advances
The Indian retail business has witnessed major technological advances. The latest wave of retail tech has two facets. On one side are niche SaaS (software as a service) companies that provide solutions to a very specific retail problem. At the other end are platforms that provide and bundle multiple services. The smaller stores across the country are adopting very specific technological solutions specific to their needs, while the larger stores—largely in the bigger cities—are adopting a bundle of services that can cater to the varied needs of the larger store.

With the young consumer, stores need to ensure that their inventory too is in place. Out-of-stock is no longer an option for retailers today. That could ruin the store’s reputation, and result in future no-shows by the young shopper. Therefore, stores must play a critical role in the fulfilment, returns, and discovery process. As stores are now offering all solutions on cloud and mobile technology, they are future-ready and can be scaled easily. That means that retailers do not need to invest heavily in physical infrastructure.

While a lot of technology has already been deployed, the next few months could mean a sea-change in the way the Indian consumer goes about their retail experience as telecom service providers start rolling out high-speed 5G services. The solutions that they will offer will redefine the retail experience for consumers. So, what all can 5G offer to the retailer and the consumer?

There are multiple things that will change in the not-too-distant future as 5G services become the norm. While major changes will initially be visible in metropolitan cities, it will be a reality across Bharat as services spread. 5G will change the in-store experience of customers by helping them in searching items, provide recommendations, and even alert salespersons to fetch items quickly. At a later stage, some of that work would be done by robots in the bigger stores.

Digital payment solutions
The millennial Indian consumer is more comfortable in using digital payment solutions. To cater to their needs, stores will over time start offering IoT (internet of things) enabled facial and object recognition solutions which will help provide retailers with demographic data on who is in the store and provide analysis on products offered. As stores across the country seek mobile numbers of consumers, they are building a data bank that can be effectively deployed by studying buying patterns. The data will help stores target products and services to specific consumers.

At a later stage immersive technologies such as AR/VR, AI, machine learning, improved speed, and efficiency, and data analytics will help the consumer compare products on the go. Then buyers will be able to experiment with different styles, and colours and even seek real-time opinions on what suits them.

The big challenge, however, for large retail businesses will be to regulate security and data privacy aspects. Already, technologies such as cloud retail software and POS software for retail, AI-based marketing automation and e-commerce and GST integrations, are helping brands and retailers drive valuable business efficiencies and customer experience.

In the changing world as the consumer of the future evolves, retail will be less about savings and more about the consumer experience. Stores will start using experiential retail to create a memorable experience for consumers when they interact with a product or service. What is crucial is to offer shoppers a seamless, linked experience. That is where the use of ERP, and ecommerce order management comes into the picture and makes a difference to the retailer and the consumer.

The future of retail is just around the corner and it could surprise people with innovations that simply change the consumer experience. Get ready for the future.

                                                                        Author

Prashant Lohia, Founder & CEO, Ginesys