Digital Transformation Post-COVID-19: A Rough Survival Guide to the Retail Apocalypse
It has been a rocky time for digital transformation in retail recently. Though COVID-19 has put much of the world’s biggest economies in a temporary stasis, the necessity for a more digitally connected world, alongside revamped business models have only become clearer.
Digital Transformation itself will need to transform to meet the demands of a vastly different landscape. This shift will affect all industries, but none more so than aviation and retail. Within aviation, at time of writing, flights across Europe are year-on-year down 62.6% (as of 17 July 2020, source: EUROCONTROL), but demand is slowly ramping up again, with predictions expecting to reach or even surpass that of pre-virus levels.
Meanwhile, the retail industry sits in a precarious position too. Wikipedia even gives this event the grandiose title of the “Retail Apocalypse.” The industry has faced many challenges for years now, and none is more imposing than the threat posed by online shopping. Amazon reported US$75bn revenues in 2020 Q1 alone, and that was before the virus and lockdowns where in full swing in The West.
However, lockdown fatigue has put many people in a frustrating position, and many are eager to express their freedoms once again. Though online shopping is seeing one of its biggest booms ever, is it sustainable? Similar to the aviation industry, post-virus, we can almost certainly expect to see a surge in the customer footfall at all levels of retail, whether it be the largest shopping centers, or tiny shops along the local high-street. People are keen to get out and about again, to visit their local brick and mortar store even if it is to just stretch their legs.
The shopping and customer experiences we can expect to see is going to be very different though. How will digital transformation face its own transformation? Shopping is intrinsically a social activity, be it the local market buying vegetables, a clothes store trying on clothes or purchasing drinks at your local cinema before the movie. The interaction between employees and the customers is a close one — physically and figuratively — whether it be handing you your fresh produce, directing you to a changing room or helping you set up your new phone.
These interactions of traditional retailing are going to see a colossal shift as a result of measures such a social distancing, contact tracing and enforcement of facemask wearing, to name a few. To prevent recurrences and so-called ‘second waves’, government implemented disease prevention policies will certainly not be in short supply. Businesses must not only adjust to this new normal of adhering to disrupting policies, but also in being agile in the uptake of new ones, all while still trying to turn a profit. As if it wasn’t hard enough already!
D-Link’s Nuclias Cloud — a cloud network management solution — has enabled retailers to not just navigate their digital transformation journey, simplifying the complexities of wired and wireless LAN device management, but come out the other side more successful than before.
Furthermore, its effectiveness has made businesses’ ability to adapt to new paradigms much easier. Modern business demands agility, and as such, Nuclias has inadvertently become a key player in enforcing social distancing and contact tracing measure with its ability to provide a highly reliable network.
Aside from helping you create a seamless Wi-Fi experience for all your guests, there are bigger benefits for business owners. As contact tracing takes a leading role in many governments’ disease prevention initiatives, the knock-on effect for many industries is far reaching. They are now obliged to collect customers’ and patrons’ contact details. How business navigate this challenging task certainly will not be easy. The potential for integrations with third parties opens up avenues for navigating tricky new regulation in the retailscape.
For example, an integrated system could collect contact details from visitors as they arrive on premises in a contactless fashion that again cuts down on potential disease transmission points, offering a safer environment for both staff and customers alike. As ever, data privacy is an issue for all parties: guests want assurance it will not be used nefariously, companies want to steer well clear of breaches and penalties. This information is stored off-site, in a legally compliant way that further alleviates the responsibility from you.
But how about the data that is collected, does it sit on some dusty server forever? Fortunately not. After a predetermined amount of time, data can be scheduled to be erased once it is no longer of use. Therefore, you can easily reassure customers that you are being responsible when handling their data. Lastly, taking an attitude of ‘hope for the best, plan for the worst’ onboard, in the event of an outbreak, you do not need to go out your way contacting people who potentially are at risk. Rather, providers will often coordinate with the relevant authorities to take care of it on your behalf.
Once key responsibilities like that are taken care of, you can get back to the important stuff: turning a profit. To do so, retailers must better engage with their customers and build long-term relationships that are mutually beneficial: you provide key services and products they need, and rewarding for loyalty and continued patronage, and them to you, their hard-earned money.
Many third parties’ bread and butter are its data collection and analytics. When customers enter your store and login to your Wi-Fi, a third parties data collection tools combined with the Nuclias Captive Portal can give you the keys to a wealth of information on your customers. That’s half the battle over. Next, analysis of all that valuable data into becomes actionable insights, as well as build profiles on customers for developing deeper, long term business-customer relationships
Precision ad campaigns undeniably have better ROI than a ‘spray and pray’ and approach. Budgets are tight, now more than ever, and there is absolutely no room for waste. Highly-targeted campaigns can produce better results, with more return customers. As for nurturing long-term relationships, Nuclias and a data and analysis provider can help with that to offer interactive loyalty programs that reward further purchases and overall help you lower the vaunted churn rate.
Business worldwide are navigating their digital transformation, and though the path is steep and filled with hazards, with the right tools (and tech!) it can be just that bit easier.
