Retail

In today’s Twenty-first-century world, we live in, are becoming more technological, digital and complex. Every service is addressed through technology, which is more accurate, seamless and cost effective. Technology has becoming so important in our day to day lives, end user becoming more mobile, more technology minded and more demanding. We live in the world of social media, multi touch interfaces, seamless mobility, uninterrupted access to communication, information, entertainment etc. Innovation is taking place at the intersection of the digital and physical worlds, where the use of Big Data and analytics has radically changed the business landscape. Retailers are now expected to connect to customers not just in stores but via the web, on smart mobile devices and even over social media networks. They use data analytics to better understand their customers through these interactions, and they adopt the newest technologies to best serve them. The retailers that succeed in this market will develop a strong brand and value proposition which in return will deliver its services flawlessly and localize it for each market.

Technological innovation is rapidly changing in retail segment, and the retailers have realized they cannot ignore and be passive observers to this process. Retailers are increasingly realizing that they need to be part of this innovation ecosystem, and have started work on both generating ideas internally and tapping into the creativity of technology start-ups and suppliers. For years, retailers have focused hard on innovation in other areas of the business and many have come to excel at store design or product innovation.It remains to be seen if they are able to replicate this in the technological sphere, especially when it is an area some have ignored as a competitive advantage for decades. The pace of innovation and consumer expectation is accelerating. From inspiration to purchase, technology plays an integral role in creating the consumer experience. Retailers have to respond, to innovate and to embrace mobile and other technologies in order to deeply engage their consumers. Very soon 21st century consumers will be having wearable devices like smart glasses and watches, giving another touch point for more meaningful interactions. Take the Nike+ Fuel Band as an example. Instead of just measuring the distance and speed of a run, the wearable devices allow users to track their physical progress based on any number of data points, drilling down to an unprecedented level of detail about their activities.