Retail Imperatives for the Future
(3 minute read)
In this blog, industry experts chart seven key imperatives that will be essential for retailers as they shape their post-pandemic strategies.
- Omnichannel strategies will and must become central to customer engagement. The growth of digital shopping and the impact of digital shifts on the customer journey means that retailers must rethink their e-commerce and store network strategies.
- Personalisation of customer journey within the omnichannel pathway will be key to building brand loyalty and customer engagement.
- Accelerating and turbocharging parts of the retail experience from delivery to micro-fulfilment will be key to meeting rising customer expectations. This would mean rapid shifts in supply chains to meet growing trend for same day and express delivery.
- Repositioning brand based on corporate values and active commitment to sustainability will be key. Shoppers disengage with brands if they find its values incompatible with their own.
- Recalibrating talent strategies will be critical. Companies must commit to greater workforce diversity and more flexible work patterns and develop talent strategies that can adjust to demand.
- Most companies are expected to become part of a wider ecosystem as part of their competitive strategies. Pursuing an eco(system)-friendly strategy will be essential for businesses to position themselves in the landscape as well as forge fruitful collaborative partnerships with other ecosystem stakeholders.
- Productivity must be transformational, not just foundational. Most companies’ fulfilment networks are not built to handle the estimated demand growth in e-commerce. More automation will take the burden out of repetitive tasks and focus worker productivity on value added tasks.
