The technology-driven shift to omnichannel shopping is the most transformative change to hit retail in decades. Yet in a global survey of CEOs conducted by PwC, only 22 percent felt this monumental shift would impact their organizations. Are these retail CEOs missing the boat?
Specialty retailer Bed Bath and Beyond spent $68m in its recently completed first quarter, primarily for IT enhancements. "While we continue to review and prioritize our capital needs, we remain committed to making the required investments in our company to help position us for our long-term success," said CEO Steven Temares.
Online retailers are waking up to the fact that getting logistics right is the key to succeeding in India. While they can do little about the potholed roads and local government restrictions, the ventures are investing and innovating in areas that they can make a difference in.
Over the next 10 years, online retail will continue to gain popularity in both developed and emerging markets and as a result, logistics companies are set to play a key role in providing vital supply chain management solutions that are able to evolve with consumers' changing shopping habits.
Online shoppers want retailers to make it easier to purchase their goods and services. Consumers also want websites and stores to work better together. For now, they also prefer to evaluate and purchase products from their desktops rather than their mobile devices, and when it comes to shipping and returns "free" is a driving factor to complete the sale. These and other findings appear in the third annual UPS Pulse of the Online Shopper study, conducted earlier this year by comScore.
As consumers continue to demand more from retailers, the grocery industry should adapt and provide targeted shopping experiences tailored to specific consumer needs and changing demographics, according to PwC’s report titled, Front of the Line: how grocers can get ahead for the future. Based on a survey of more than 1,000 shoppers, the report shares insights on changing consumer segments, what they'll want for the future and what can be done today to keep them happy tomorrow.
Omnichannel retailing, which provides customers with a consistent research, shopping, purchasing and fulfillment experience regardless of channel, lies at the heart of many retailer transformation efforts. Additionally, mobile shopping, same-day delivery, and growing volumes of data from online channels are forcing retailers to a tipping point to remain competitive and better respond to evolving customer needs and preferences.
The ubiquity of the internet and smartphones has made e-commerce and m-commerce grow by leaps and bounds. But fear not, brick-and-mortar retailers: in-store shopping isn't going anywhere. In fact, brick-and-mortar retail still drives more than 90 percent of commerce, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
