How businesses are heavily dependent on tech?

The retail industry has undergone monumental changes after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the emergence of the virus has adversely affected offline retail businesses, it has triggered the humongous growth of the e-commerce industry by skyrocketing online sales. As a result, Indian e-commerce has recorded an ever-increasing customer demand and an upward sales trajectory by embracing technology. As the backbone of e-commerce, technology has phenomenally shaped the industry by connecting sellers and customers under web and mobile platforms.

With the changing customer expectations, retailers need to be present everywhere their customers are. Although seamlessly serving shoppers across multiple touchpoints can be demanding, an array of new technologies makes the process convenient. Still, not all retailers have incorporated technology into their operations.

Technology- An untapped domain

Not tapping into technology has posed a significant backdrop for traditional retailers, halting their growth opportunities. As per a recent report by Capgemini, consumers wish to use technology to help them engage at the stores at every step of the shopping journey. The concern arises when the same study mentions that many retailers are not implementing the digital initiatives that consumers want, achieving a significant scale or delivering a return. The study further states that only a minority of digital leaders who implemented relevant digital initiatives in most stores realized substantial benefits. Standing in the present times, traditional retailers who have not adopted the digital avenue in their customer experience have witnessed significant hindrances to their growth. Thus, offline retailers need to realize the endless possibilities of technology and tap it accordingly to explore the unexplored areas of business, driving immense business growth.

How does technology foster e-commerce business growth?

Technology enables setting up shops, connecting with audiences, improving customer experiences, and facilitating effective management of orders, deliveries, payments, and returns of purchased products. It also plays a crucial role throughout the e-commerce value chain by bolstering customization, personalization, recruiting, marketing, advertising, enhanced search, etc. Here are further details on how technology is the primary fuel for shaping the e-commerce sector.

Technology helps to build omnichannel retail

The need to become omnipresent has given rise to omnichannel retail for retailers. In this, consumers seamlessly move from one channel to other and enjoy a unified experience. They use mobile devices in many ways, from making payments, managing loyalty cards, communicating with customer service agents, and visualizing products. In line with this, a Statista report states that using digital devices before or during shopping will influence 58% of in-store sales by 2022. The seamless implementation of technology helps businesses establish omnichannel retail that embraces offline and online options. This retail model facilitates making online payments and collecting the purchased products from the stores. According to a recent study, 85% of consumers prefer interacting with brands using digital and physical channels, which is consistent across all generations. Thus, failure to offer this multi-channel experience can cause retailers to lag behind more agile competitors.

As per the omnichannel marketing platform 'Omnisend,' omnichannel marketing can be highly effective to ensure the best success rate of marketing campaigns. It leads to a 250% higher purchase rate over single-channel campaigns. Omnichannel marketing platforms also boost customer retention rates. Moreover, successful marketing via omnichannel retail requires connecting with customers on their terms. Today's shoppers no longer merely wish to receive static messages; they want tailor-made messaging (whether ads or loyalty programs) relevant to their needs and delivered across desktop, mobile, and in-store platforms.

Software tools reinvent e-commerce

E-commerce businesses widely use loyalty and rewards tech software tools to engage customers post-purchase and drive repeat sales. Such effortless tools boost customer engagement, loyalty programs, gamification, advocacy marketing, and many more initiatives. As e-commerce sales volumes continue to soar high, companies shall improve how they monitor supply chains, manage inventories, and deliver goods by leveraging various technologies, including end-to-end visibility platforms, inventory management tools, and delivery management software.

Automation increases productivity and efficiency

Today, automation has emerged as the top trend in technology, creating a more efficient warehouse. By increasing expenditure on automation, retailers can significantly improve their productivity & efficiency and decrease their expense on staff. Hence, an automated system enables businesses to accomplish outcomes that go beyond human capabilities.

Summing up

The future unlocks phenomenal opportunities for companies that invest in the overwhelming consumer demand for digital to transform the overall customer experience. Thus, success will largely depend on continuous efforts to reinvest in new research technology by go-to retailers, always seeking to stay ahead of consumer needs.

Author: Manish Kaushik, CEO & Co-Founder of QPe