Today, customers want to be able to interact with retailers on their own terms. Making purchases and communicating with brands wherever and whenever they feel like it. In 2019, we’ve seen how the adoption of innovative technologies, cloud and intelligent automation is helping these retailers achieve the level of customer experience that modern consumers expect.Read more
According to IBM, cloud computing empowers retailers to address challenges and make the most of new market opportunities. “Not only can cloud enable new, dynamic business and operational models, it can also help fundamentally change cost structures,” says IBM. As more and more consumers demand digital channels, contextual relations and consistent digital and in-store experiences,Read more
Historically, December is the most important month of the year for retail trade. But December 2018 failed to deliver. In 2018, South Africa retailers saw sales volumes decline by 1.4% year-on-year. But it isn’t all doom and gloom. The retail industry’s enjoyed a fruitful November with Black Friday boosting sales to 2.9% year-on-year. For Dov Girnun, CEORead more
South African consumers may be moving online but this doesn’t mean that modern retailers should simply abandon their brick and mortar stores. While South Africa’s online spend growth rate is projected as 15% through 2021, this figure only accounts for 1% of the country’s retail sector as a whole. But this doesn’t mean that retailersRead more
Speaking at a recent Cloud for Retail event in Cape Town, Linah Maigurira, Google’s retail industry manager for South Africa, explained that consumers are more curious, more demanding and more impatient than they’ve ever been before. “Your customers are walking into your shop with an intent to buy and that intent is backed by knowledge. They’reRead more
Clothing-as-a-Service (CaaS) is being explored by several major brands to disrupt how retail businesses can attract interest from, and tap into the budgets of, modern consumers. As an example, we will see clothing rentals moving beyond just renting out tuxedos or evening gowns for special occasions. A brand like Banana Republic is testing the watersRead more
The benefits of robotic process automation (RPA) are huge; across businesses of all sizes and a wide range of industries. By relieving human workers from having to perform repetitive tasks, these tools free up your workforce to focus on more important tasks. In fact, the implementation of RPA can give a typical organisation as muchRead more
According to a global study co-sponsored by the IBM Institute of Business Value and the National Retail Federation, retailers and consumer product businesses are entering a new phase of technological innovation. Titled “The coming AI revolution in retail and consumer products”, the findings are based on a global survey of 1 900 retail and consumerRead more
Omni-channel retailers have both physical stores and a digital presence. But it’s about a lot more than just doing both. Successful omni-channel retailers give customers to make purchases via a variety of sales channels and, very importantly, these businesses offer a high level of integration between these different channels. If a customer adds an itemRead more
Keen to discover how artificial intelligence (AI) is set to shake up the retail space, IBM surveyed 1 900 retail and consumer product representatives across 23 countries. What they found was that the adoption of intelligent automation technologies within the retail industry is only set to increase. The focus of the IBM study was toRead more
