MARKET REPORT Retail
Bernie McPhillips, Sales Director of Pangea
blurred, and there’s a complete
mix-and-match when it comes
to customer preference. Do they
prefer to research online and buy
in-store? Or do they scout out a
product in-store to get a look and
feel for it, then search for the best
online option?“
Agility is Key
It may seem like a daunting
task to tackle a sector which is
so dynamic but many would
argue the Channel is actually the
only place where you can bring
multiple technologies together
with a seamless integrations from
several vendors.
Lee Shorten agrees, he
commented “Retail is still one of
if not the most forward thinking
sectors with some of the most
talented and innovative CIO’s.
Th e speed at which the consumer
is demanding digitisation is
unprecedented and retailers are
looking to smaller agile forward
thinking channel partners to
be more than just suppliers
of technology but more often
to bring together innovative
thinkers and support the speed
of shift in shopping patterns.
Companies like Virocom are
bringing together the innovations
from numbers vendors and are
showcasing them to large retailers
so they can see more available
solutions in a single space.”
McPhillips added, “Th ere’s
no doubt that the Channel
is equipped to bring digital
transformation into retail. It
already provides the lifeblood
of most business today—that
being connectivity. Whether
it’s payment processing, stock
monitoring, or gauging sales
opportunities, the Channel puts
what businesses need most within
reach.
It doesn’t stop there: customers
also rely on their telecoms
providers to be at the forefront of
emerging tech, to advise them on
what’s crucial and pinpoint where
opportunities lie, whether it’s IoT
or otherwise. In order to enable
retailers to develop disruptive
strategies, the Channel needs to
stay ahead of the game itself.”
So what about those partners
currently selling traditional
services into retailers? Can they
really keep abreast of the market?
Rowlands says, “To put
it bluntly, resellers with only
traditional services don’t stand a
11.4% Online shopping
BREXIT FEARS
Analysis of the UK’s top 250 retailers, by Visualsoft, has found a 19%
year-on-year increase in the number of brands offering the option to pay
in international currency.
The report examined the sector’s biggest names and found that 81%
of these retailers are offering customers the option to pay in nonsterling
alternatives. This was an increase on the 62% of retailers that
offered international payments in 2017. The majority of these are Euros
and USD, with 1% of retailers offering Yen.
Dale Higginbottom, head of CRO at Visualsoft, commented “These
fi gures suggest proactivity in the lead-up to Brexit and adoption of new
payment trends, which is great to see. However, we know that up to
a quarter of consumers also abandon their transactions at checkout
because the retailer doesn’t provide their payment method of choice.
Offering a wide range of options is an important way for retailers to
maximise their sales potential, but too many are still not doing so – with
23% neglecting an offer outside of traditional cards. This inability to get
the basics right could prove crucial as we move into 2019.”
chance against those providing
modern technology. Retailers
recognise the importance
of coming out on top in the
customer service battlefi eld if
they are to survive, and investing
in outdated systems won’t get
them there.”
Customer Experiences Matter
As customers look for more from
their retail experience many
outlets are concentrating on
making customer journeys joined
up between online and in-store
and delivering an experience
which will see customers come
back for more than just the
products they are purchasing.
Shorten commented,
“Retailers are moving to one of
two areas, lower cost operating
models to bring costs down for
consumers to enjoy products at
a lower price point or increased
customer experience, whether
this be from convenience; with
supply chain options, same day
and next day; and an increase in
click and collect from companies
like Doddle who allow retailers
to take footfall from third
grew 11.4% in 2018
parties into their stores and
off er additional services or cross
selling additional products and
increasing basket sizes through
satisfaction.
We no longer want to talk to
people when we can self-service
or Web Chat with a Virtual
Assistant but when we do want
to talk to someone we want to
get there quickly and inevitably
have a much more complex
requirement. Companies like
Sabio are spending time with
retailers understanding the
customer experience journey
and have recently bought Bright
(& Rapport) - A benchmarking
tool so customers can see how
they are doing and the eff ects of
implementing new technology.”
Rowlands added,
“Communications solutions
powered by AI and machine
learning can supercharge customer
service teams by allowing agents
to be more focused and to
respond to calls quicker. Th ese
solutions overcome the challenge
of delivering an effi cient customer
experience through multiple
fragmented channels, bringing
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32 | Comms Business Magazine | March 2019 www.commsbusiness.co.uk
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