Tech for retailers can be simple yet effective

There has been an explosion in innovative tech within the retail sector. From artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), facial recognition, blockchain to customer service chatbots — all implemented by retailers who hope the next big tech trends can help attract and retain today’s famously fickle customers.

Whether it’s the C-suite at major international brands or owners of independent cottage-industries and start-ups, there’s mounting pressure to adapt to new technologies as well as apply a data-driven approach to solving real business challenges and in turn driving rapid business growth.

But with the pressure on, retailers don’t necessarily have to look to the most complicated tech in order to get a return on their investment. In fact, typically the simpler it is, the better. We’ve rounded up three of the top challenges that retailers face, and look at some simple tech solutions to help solve them.

An omni-channel world
Retail is complicated these days. Consumers expect their smartphones to be a one-stop shop, putting enormous pressure on retailers to deliver a seamless omni-channel experience. The technical challenge is immense and it’s often still a work-in-progress for most retailers.

With all of that complexity, it’s easy for retailers to lose sight of what’s actually important — creating the best customer experience both online and offline, throughout the buying journey.

Until recently, retailers have relied on basic approaches, such as using unique vouchers and coupons or even exit surveys to track the steps shoppers take in the ever-increasing number of omni-channel sales. But this is starting to change as data giants such as Facebook and Google have created offline conversion tracking tools that allow bricks-and-mortar stores to bridge the gap easily.

The power of this is incredible, especially when you consider that 90% of retail sales still happen in-store, while these customers begin their research on products and business locations through their mobile phones. Facebook’s Store Visits answers this challenge by helping businesses to achieve their end-objective of driving customers into a bricks-and-mortar store. Through creating personalised ads with location based relevance, the tech reaches out specifically to nearby shoppers, attracting them into the store.

Coupled with powerful reporting tools, retailers can now see the direct impact these online campaigns have on their offline foot traffic. A simple idea for a simple problem.

Data, data everywhere
Chief marketing officers (CMOs) often say that not having enough data isn’t the problem — it’s knowing what to do with it.

With technology, retailers can utilise the data collected from individual digital touchpoints, which then provides personalised experiences for each customer.

For retailers in particular, tracking customer patterns using Wi-Fi hotspots, sensors in-store and QR codes, for example, can give much better insights into customer sentiment and behaviour. The collection and analysis of these rich insights can help greatly in driving business decisions.

But data isn’t just useful for boosting customer experience. It is also critical to leverage these predictive customer insights for new opportunities and growth — if not now, then soon. The most innovative retailers know that in addition to identifying technical gaps, it is also essential to align your analytics strategy with your business goals, and to have sufficient operational and governance capabilities in place. By doing so, retailers will be able to build scalable analytic programmes that can be adjusted as they grow, driving better results and profitability.

Cashflow management
Cashflow optimisation is key to all retailers, allowing them to prioritise their working capital to enable growth. Getting there, however, is easier said than done. In fact, a recent study by JP Morgan cited the average small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) hold a cash buffer enough to support only 27 days of their typical outflows.

A huge portion of this problem lies in the high upfront costs to stock up on inventory, logistics and the need to order supplies in bulk — battles fought daily to keep working capital afloat. Couple this with the high cost of recurring monthly expenses such as rent and payroll, and it’s clear why the recent SME Financing survey by SPRING Singapore (now known as Enterprise Singapore) suggests cashflow management is the number one pain for small businesses in Singapore this year.

Fortunately, the rise in fintech means more convenient and flexible solutions that can immediately impact these cashflow needs of retailers.

In short, technology for retailers doesn’t have to be complicated to be effective. It is, after all, there to solve the problems we face in business now, not in the future — the VR goggles can wait a little longer!