Let’s cut to the chase. We all know that the last two years have been a roller-coaster ride for retail businesses around the world. With their buyers spending months in quarantines, and the market experiencing a phased recovery in 2020 and 2021, physical retail stores have learned to recognize major changes in standard operating procedures and customers’ shopping behavior.
Retailers need a systematic self-assessment to pinpoint deliverables needed to help them survive and thrive in 2023. At this point, it is imperative for retail businesses to plan and invest in a retail management system that would allow them to prioritize and execute the retail transformation.
By gaining increased visibility into their supply chain and data-powered insights and forecasts, businesses will be able to develop new plans to counteract disruptions in customer buying behavior, determine optimal store footprints in different seasons, and brainstorm shopping experiences that customers will be looking for in 2023. Data will be a key player here and that can be derived by implementing a well-functioning and futureproof retail management system (RMS). Here are some questions retailers need to be asking themselves and using RMS capabilities to solve them to gain success in 2023.
Which channels can your product or service be purchased from?
With people continuing social distancing, retailers will be needing to offer customers new ways to buy in 2023. While e-commerce and omnichannel buying experiences will remain at the forefront, innovative methods of purchasing such as BOPIS (buy online and pick up in-store), third-party fulfillment (3PL), drop shipping, pick-up outlets, self-managed fulfillment, etc. will become increasingly popular.
92% of retailers already have a BOPIS system in place. Radical
Serving consumers who are concerned about their safety and health in the post-pandemic world will be paramount for all retailers. This concern will convince retail businesses to offer digitally-driven services such as curbside pickup options, contactless delivery options, online-ordering apps, and multichannel buying experiences.
A study published in Harvard Business Review says, 73 percent of all customers use multiple channels during their purchase journey.
