2. The rise of AI
AI application will touch every link of the retail value chain, transforming the customer journey with innovations like auto-replenishment models, automated river vehicles, personalisation at scale and virtual stores.
Moreover, intelligent data mining, innovative transformation strategies and trustworthiness will be prerequisites for sustained business in an increasingly transparent trading environment characterised by shifting power dynamics.
Figure 15: Key enablers for full readiness
Source: Accenture/World Economic Forum
Dissolving multi-channel marketing paradigms will be replaced by a single, cross-platform, omnichannel experience. Blurring the lines between in-store, online and on-the-go will, in some cases, mean stepping into a physical store that feels like a tangible extension of its online counterpart. Whether AI is being used to identify a more efficient delivery route or accurately predict a customer’s pregnancy status, the dreamy realms of science fiction are becoming reality. Many of the technological foundation stones have already been laid and developments are unfolding at an unprecedented pace.
3. Managing risk
Retailers are eagerly adopting new technologies to leverage new opportunities. However, new risks are merging. Consumers are increasingly conscious of the need to protect personal data and their privacy in order to reduce the risk of fraud, identity theft and misuse of their data. They also expect companies to be transparent about the data they hold on them, what they use it for and how it is protected.
We found that over a quarter of respondents surveyed have taken some action to limit the amount of data shared with companies, reaching almost a third for 16-24 year olds. Also consumers also felt that the perceived benefit from the exchange of their personal data was not equitable. Two thirds of consumers think that businesses benefited more than consumers. Just 8% of respondents thought that consumers benefited the most with 26% saying that there was an equal exchange of value.
The biggest risk we foresee regarding future online growth are consumer attitudes towards sharing personal data and the perception of retailers’ responsible use and protection of that data.
In your opinion, who currently benefits the most from personal data exchange?
Source: Retail Economics
Past and present factors in the lead up to online prominence
Relatively speaking, the rise of online retail has been fairly swift, especially within the last decade. The retail customer journey has been reshaped beyond recognition and technology, as already mentioned, has facilitated much of this growth, but how did things evolve?
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This work was conducted by Retail Economics in partnership with Womble Bond Dickinson. It looks at the development of technology within the UK retail industry and the rise of the online channel, accounting for past, present and future factors. The research forecasts that the ‘digital tipping point’ where online with surpass in-store spend will be around 2028 (based on given assumptions). Topics covered: the evolving customer journey, online penetration, shopper demographics, delivery developments, store roles, digital technology, AI and future risks.
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