MARKET REPORT Retail
“There’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.” Bernie McPhillips, Sales Director, Pangea
ED SAYS…
2019 will be a ‘shake-up’ year for retail. Driven by global economic conditions and
reverberations from Brexit, in the UK particularly, retailers will look to innovate their
way out of the crisis with technology. If you aren’t in IoT yet but serve a lot of retailers
connectivity type services or EPOS then you could be selling yourself short.
them all together under one roof,
with one system of engagement
and a steady fl ow of customer
information between departments.
Th e top customer service
frustration consumers cited is
‘being passed around the houses’
without their query being solved.
But with AI and machine
learning enabling ‘intelligent
call routing’, the caller can
automatically be identifi ed along
with their reason for calling and
be connected directly to the right
expert to resolve their call at the
fi rst outreach. Customers can
pick up the conversation exactly
where they left off as complete
customer history is shown by
providing detailed information
on previous interactions, all while
the caller is on the line.”
Laura Arthurton, CEO at
Conversity says the key to being a
success in this area is recognising
all these diff erent touch points
that consumers go through, and
use this knowledge to engage
with the consumers directly at
every step of their journey.
She commented, “Off ering
a true omni-channel experience
requires speed and innovation,
EXPERIENCE Premier Cloud & MPP’S from SOS
Hosted telephony solution from £3.95/month 01403 224450 www.soscommunications.co.uk
34 | Comms Business Magazine | March 2019 www.commsbusiness.co.uk
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
March.ai 6 18/02/2019 09:20:46
but it presents a massive
opportunity for retailers to beat
the competition and provide a
truly integrated shopping process
for customers. It is crucial for
retailers to adopt a comprehensive
approach to personalised
shopping experiences in order
to make sure that they are able
to off er the right products and
services to the right people, at
the right time. By off ering this,
retailers can reduce the chances of
customers choosing a competitor,
and increase the chances of being
able to compete with the quality
of their service.”
Playing to win
For the Channel, many of
these trends will seem foreign
and whimsical. How do you
go from selling broadband
to delivering the technology
required to create a unique
customer experience for a retail
outlet? According to Shorten
the answer lies in the ability
to deliver a multi-channel
proposition.
“Th ere’s both a risk and an
opportunity, many pure play
retailers are looking to move to
bricks and mortar to enhance
the experience and close the
gap to “touch the customer” as
well as large bricks and mortar
retailers working through ways
to complete the off ering for
their customers. Th ose that
embrace the multi channel
nature of customer demands I
believe will be the winner. Th e
explosion of IoT doesn’t appear
to be slowing down anytime
soon and products are becoming
more prevalent, combining
management tools into single
platforms so technology can be
managed from a single view.”
McPhillips commented,
“Where there’s reward, there’s
bound to be risk. And the risk is:
if you don’t do it, others will.
IoT is a journey—whether
you’re a provider, reseller or
end user. And the evolution
doesn’t have to all happen at
once; it can begin with a step as
simple as dodging outages with
multi-network connectivity, or
one as thorough as a smart store
solution that tracks your entire
stock. Pick your battles, and
start wherever you want in the
revolution; but start now.”
RETAIL TRENDS 2019
• Emotion selling – Millennial shoppers now look for company culture
when it comes to shopping with brands. What CSR policy, social
consciousness, and most importantly image.
• Online growth – The online shopping sector expanded 11.4% in 2018
(according to The Balance) which means differentiation online has
become a new battleground.
• Engaging experiences win – A simple remodel of a store just doesn’t
cut it these days. Customers want engaging in-store experiences
coupled with mobile apps which can deliver Augmented Reality and
Virtual Reality experiences. This includes the use of IoT and beacon
technology to present offers and products which are unique to
shoppers preferences and tastes.
• Subscription E-Commerce – The subscription market is booming
with consumers signing up to regularly receive products from their
favourite brands. Coupled with a more personalised experience this
could be the next major trend in shopping.
©stokkete.com-stock.adobe.com
/www.soscommunications.co.uk
/www.commsbusiness.co.uk