Retail Asia Forum Bangkok 2023 explores tech in retail to unlock customer value

The event was held on 5 April 2023, at the JW Marriott Bangkok.

The retail industry has embraced various changes over the past years, brought on by the rapid adoption of e-commerce channels for its operations. With the growth in digital retail spaces amidst the fierce market competition, brands have been able to reach more customers across the globe, whilst there continues to be a growing need to innovate in retailers' processes.

Retail Asia Magazine proudly launched the Bangkok leg of the Retail Asia Forum 2023 on 5 April at the JW Marriott Bangkok. During the forum, retail leaders and experts were able to network, share insights on the developments in the industry, and present opportunities that can be explored in the near future.

Winning in the next retail era and customer epiphany

The first speaking session for the event was led by Bain & Company Partner Dr Fai Assakul and Senior Manager Chanikarn Wongtada. They talked about how the retail landscape has developed as well as the principles to keep in mind for companies to win in the next era. Apart from these, they also took a deep dive into unlocking the value of customers.

Marketplaces, or ecosystem players, have been the key drivers of retail growth, with around 60% of that growth driven by them. The pandemic has led to traditional retailers ramping up their online capabilities and reaping the benefits. Digital natives have also seen their valuations increase in 2021, but these have dropped significantly as investors now want “real profit.”

Given this, the seven key principles to winning in the future for retailers—whether traditional or digital—are to serve with purpose, live the customer epiphany, excel at omnichannel retail, build resilience through revenue diversification, think and act like a digital native, become the employer of choice, and continue tightening the cost base without impacting the customer experience.

Assakul and Wongtada then discussed how to unlock the value in customer relationships by understanding them, stressing that happy customers are more valuable than unhappy ones. “If we have the right intention, we have the right data structure, we have the right tech, you can really understand your customer to the segment,” said Assakul.

To live the “customer epiphany,” companies have to shift to a customer economy, build a holistic view of the customer, use data and feedback to continuously upgrade their value propositions and engagement models, and measure and track success one customer at a time.

Looking from a holistic angle means understanding their most valued customers in a way that allows brands to get them to visit more and enjoy their experience each time, not just to lure them in for a one-time walk-through, Assakul said. And with this comes data that could be vital for retailers, but which remains a challenge for them. 

“The tricky thing is, how can you make sure that as they go through that experience, the data and information carry through across the different channels, and then as they make a purchase, everything syncs back to the back end system as well, which I think one of the real challenges tend to lie in most retailers,” she said.

Unlocking AR's potential for retail business growth

As digital adoption in the retail space accelerated, companies are getting their hands on new technological tools, such as augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality. Some have also joined the race towards creating their presence in the metaverse.  

Regardless of which tool retailers seek to integrate in their operations Siddharth Gondode, Associate Vice President of Business Insights at Central Retail Corporation (Digital) raised that it should be with the intent of “mov[ing] away from the philosophy of selling more, and mov[ing] on to the philosophy of establishing relationships with the customer.”

More on the topic of customer experience, YCP Solidiance Partner and YCP Interactive Co-CEO Mehdi Jaouadi discussed tech in retail, particularly the use of AR in enhancing the customer experience.

Jaouadi talked about how AR can unlock growth potential and enhance customer engagement in retail. He added that experiential retail through AR technology can increase sales, build loyalty by helping customers customise their products, and increase foot traffic in physical retail, amongst others. AR technology is also considered a cost-effective way of improving customer experience that could also raise the whole customer lifetime value.  

In addition to this, Jaouadi dove into possible opportunities in experiential retail, such as virtual try-ons, showroom experiences, product catalogues being showcased in-store or in animation, and even B2B complex product integration showcases.

For instance, beauty and skincare company The Body Shop used AR as part of its recycling campaign by featuring a piece of art that shows a whale made up of all recyclable materials from the beach of Bali. The AR then allows shoppers to see a whale swimming and playing around them. 

Natee Srirussamee, Senior Vice President of Digital Retail at The Mall Group, who was also amongst the speakers of the event shared how the company deployed new technology to engage their customers. The company launched the Paragon virtual store, which is the first in the country, a few years back, and just recently launched its own metaverse. 

These have paved the way for The Mall Group to engage customers through games that allow them to collect reward points. Through AR, the company has also eased in-store navigation for shoppers, allowing them to get directions to find products or brands using their phone cameras.

“[AR] is not only about the product that you project, but it's the entire shop experience. Geolocalisation, in-store navigation is one, but it is also for day-to-day life,” Jaouadi said.

For Central Retail, Siddharth Gondode, Associate Vice President of Business Insights at Central Retail Corporation (Digital) said the company is focusing on key angles in building a unified data platform, such as customer experience management, and big data platform.   He explained this will allow Central Retail to integrate its customers as well as connect with internal stakeholders, and help advise when making business decisions, such as how big data can be utilised.

The panellists discussed various issues and opportunities in the retail sector, such as technological changes, improving customer experience, true omnichannel for in-store shoppers, integration of online and offline, and the priorities of various retail companies.

They also answered questions from the audience on matters of user-generated content, omnichannel experiences and technologies for the FMCG industry, and the possibility of monetising data.