Retailers must prepare for ‘seamless commerce’

KPMG expert predicts an end to online versus offline retailing as consumer engagement changes.

A TIME will come when hardly any distinction will be made between online and offline retailing. Such is the future predicted by Anson Bailey, Head of Consumer and Retail, Asia Pacific at KPMG, where this great divide dissolves into what he calls “seamless commerce.”

“[It] is really referring to the next generation of retail that we’re going to see,” he told Retail Asia. 

Bailey stressed the need for retailers to develop data driven and connected capabilities to ensure they have the flexibility and operational capacity to meet rising service and product delivery expectations.

Gen Z shoppers

This future, as Bailey paints it, responds to changing consumer behaviours, particularly amongst Gen Z shoppers, who demand flexibility and immersive shopping experiences.

“For those Gen Z consumers, the tastes change very, very quickly. You’ve got to be prepared to change at the speed of light in terms of those consumer tastes and interests,” he said.

“They [retailers] have to really follow the consumers. If they don’t follow, if they don’t react to those consumers, they’re suddenly going to find that their business has gone elsewhere,” he warned.

Citing the imminent, the expert said Gen Z consumers are expected to play a crucial role in shaping the retail landscape of tomorrow.

In China alone, an estimated 300 million Gen Z consumers are set to emerge, with double that number across the rest of Asia. Bailey pointed out how this underscores their significant influence on the market.

“Those Gen Z consumers are very tech savvy, they’re very digitally minded, and they expect the retailers to be on the ball,” he said.

Varying preferences

Highlighting regional nuances, Bailey also cited contrasting consumer preferences across the Asia Pacific region.

In Japan, for instance, the dominant preference for offline shopping is due to its cultural context, which is a contrast to Indonesia’s inclination towards online channels, driven by geographic factors.

“Sometimes, you’ve got to look at the different locations. You’ve got to be very agile and you’ve got to be very flexible in terms of that retail strategy,” stressed Bailey.

“Again, that’s the reason why we’ve been talking about how seamless commerce is going to be very important,” he added.

AI as an enabler

Artificial intelligence or AI carries the transformative potential to enhance customer service and personalisation across diverse regional markets, according to the KPMG expert. 

“I’m not saying that the likes of AI are going to solve all the problems,” Bailey told Retail Asia. “But AI is going to be a really, really good enabler to help you and your team to connect, serve them (consumers) better, quicker, (and) more efficiently in the future.”

He also foresees how AI would continue to evolve, revolutionising loyalty programmes and consumer engagement strategies through advanced predictive analytics.

Loyalty programmes will play a crucial role in gathering consumer data, complemented by AI’s ability to decipher preferences and behaviours with richer datasets, he said.

This synergy is expected to redefine how businesses connect with and serve customers, ensuring a more personalised and efficient approach to meeting the demands of the evolving marketplace.

As a parting shot in this interview, Bailey addressed retailers: “To do nothing is not an option. You have to be making sure that you are adopting those tools like AI, because that is going to be really important for the future.”