Technological advancements have brought about improvements in many different areas of life and business. Retail, as a customer-facing sector, has been at the forefront of technological innovation for a while now, and consumers all over the world are now accustomed to many new technologies in retail.
Digital transformation has already improved different retail businesses, and the shops that have decided to digitize their operation have seen a growth in revenue and improved their customer experience among other things.
If you still haven’t gotten around to digitally transform your retail business and aren’t sure what exactly digital transformation is and what are all of its benefits, you’ve come to the right place.
What is digital transformation?
Digital transformation is currently present in every industry you can think of and it’s expected to add $100 trillion to the world economy by 2025. When we say a company has gone through digital transformation, it means that it went digital to improve its services and offer products that meet its customers’ expectations.
The end goal is to allow businesses to become more responsive to the ever-changing marketing trends and customer preferences. In the retail industry, the main focus is to find innovative solutions and new opportunities that will lead to a more modern business model and higher income.
When retailers decide on digital transformation, they need to think about more than just marginal improvements. They need to find a way to create a connected engagement that’s simplified with the use of new technology. If done right, the end result will be reduced costs and enhanced efficiency.
Everyone in the retail industry knows how hard it is to keep up with new trends, but thanks to digital transformation, you will be able to offer the perfect services and products to your customers. The path to digital transformation may be long and challenging, but it’s more than worth it when you consider all the benefits.
What are its benefits?
The benefits that come with digital transformation are something many businesses strive to achieve, but accomplishing all of these goals is practically impossible if you don’t have the right tools.
There are five main benefits, all of which can help you grow your retail business and start achieving your goals:
- Easier customer communication. Various technological solutions have made it much easier for retailers to communicate with their customers via different contact channels. The use of multiple channels such as websites, social media, and chatbots, allow for better engagement and customer loyalty.
- Smooth operations. Modern tools that use the cloud have made it possible to improve operations externally and internally as well. These tools allow employees to automate processes they would otherwise have to do manually, which gives them more time to focus on more important tasks.
- Convenience. Artificial intelligence (AI) has created a better and more convenient way for customers to shop. Not only that, but thanks to digital transformation, retailers can sell their merchandise through various different channels such as their website but also social media and mobile applications.
- Higher revenue. If you’re looking to generate more than one channel of income, you need to reach a much wider audience, and that’s exactly what digital transformation aims to accomplish. With the right tools and channels, your store can start selling to customers worldwide.
- A better customer experience. Everything retailers do nowadays has one primary goal, and that’s to provide a better customer experience and ensure every consumer has a positive experience. With the right tools, you can provide high-quality service without too much effort.
How to keep up
As we already mentioned, digital transformation is something that’s already all around us. It may seem hard to keep up at times, especially with retail giants who already use various tools and software to reap all of the benefits.
If you truly want to keep up, here’s what you need to do.
Build a website that converts
eCommerce websites are growing in popularity every year and many brick-and-mortar stores are transitioning online for many reasons. Whether it’s to overcome geographical limitations, to be available to their customer 24/7, or create markets for niche products, there is no one right answer as to why you need a website.
However, when you do build a website, you need to follow smart strategies for eCommerce success and make sure your site will convert visitors into customers. There are a few things you can do to ensure your website visitors will click on the “Purchase” button:
- Focus on search engine visibility and put a lot of work into SEO.
- Sell your products at a lower cost than you would in your physical store.
- Make it easy for your visitors to navigate through your website and locate items.
- Write the perfect product descriptions with enough information. This will assure your visitors that your products can solve their problems.
- Enable coupons, deals, and group buying.
Use social media for promotion
Social media marketing has been around for almost as long as social media and it can be very beneficial for your business. If you create different profiles on social media websites and have a decent following on them, you will be able to bring more traffic to your website and boost your SEO.
If you really want to take advantage of social media, you can partner with influencers on various platforms who will promote your products to their followers and bring more attention to your business. Some of the most popular influencers today are TikTok influencers because the platform offers more versatility and liberties when it comes to creating content and reaching wider audiences.
Have an excellent customer support
Good customer support has always been important to businesses of all niches. Now that technological advancements have made it possible to improve customer service, everyone is expecting businesses to implement new and improved methods of communication.
One of the tools that customers now expect to see on every eCommerce website is live chat software. If you implement live chat, you will be able to answer customer questions before they become hesitant, keep customer communication on brand, and gather insight on customers’ behaviors.
According to live chat stats, it has the highest satisfaction level for any customer service channel, ranging from 73% to 81%.
Use AR to your advantage
Augmented reality (AR) is starting to see a growth in popularity. In 2020, 32% of consumers used AR while shopping, and this number will only keep rising. Smart retailers are starting to use AR to increase their sales revenues.
You can create your own AR program that will allow your users to try out your products without even entering your store. Some stores are already doing this, and we will probably see a rise of retailers who offer an augmented reality experience in the near future. Make sure you’re keeping up with this trend.
Final thoughts
The future is already here, and it’s becoming more and more obvious that businesses who want to stay in the game and keep making a profit need to adjust to these constantly changing times and trends.
Digital transformation has been around us for some time, and now it’s something customers have learned to expect from retailers. Don’t forget that the retail market is huge and there are a lot of competitors. If you don’t provide your customers with what they want, they’ll simply go to one of your competitors.
