🟥 What is digital transformation? At the highest level, it means that the use of digital technologies is creating game-changing innovations in the business world that are either disrupting current industries or creating entirely new ones.
🗨 While it can be difficult to elaborate further, the important question to ask is whether the digital transformation is a fad or a lasting trend. The easiest examples tend to be Uber and Spotify, where the technology managed to turn the entire market upside down.
Spotify, for example, made physical media (music in particular) almost completely irrelevant. Uber completely changed the need for a vehicle and how people get rides, impacting the economics of an entire industry. 👇
We are continuing to see digital transformation in nearly all industries. Even in places like the hot tub business, where people can find the best pool heaters of 2020 or the benefits of a frequent soak, is seeing an impact.
◆ Retail and Digital Transformation 👇
Perhaps the one area that is still waiting for its big change is retail. For now, there is still a transfer of the possession of physical goods from a retailer to the consumer. Digitizing those assets has yet to happen. But that physical transfer of goods is what may be inhibiting retailers into thinking that the digital transformation won’t impact them as it has other industries.
The simple fact of the matter is that the change has already started to happen. Nearly the entire process of consumer shopping is digital. The only part that hasn’t changed is the physical transfer of the goods being purchased.
Even certain aspects like the fit of clothing have become nearly entirely digitized. More and more, consumers are eschewing the physical store experience. It is no wonder that traffic is down in stores and that in-store sales have struggled.
◆ Why is Digital Transformation Important for Retailers? 👇
Perhaps the most important thing that retailers need to understand is that digital transformation has already begun. More importantly, there are aspects of the world as a whole that have changed the way businesses are structured.
🎯 For one, COVID-19 has completely disrupted life, period. Going to work and school, going to the grocery store; these have all been heavily impacted by a global pandemic. Consumer demand, saving patterns, spending style, and shopping habits have all changed as we see an increasing demand for personal safety.
🏧 The digital buying trend was already here but the need for self-quarantining and social distancing only enhanced that surge. Continuing forward with digital transformation is now a must. Businesses must find new distribution and sales channels. They must improve their online presence, investing in better models, and more granular data to meet changing customer demands.
Moreover, digital transformation is pushing for a change in the way that businesses and their employees operate. With a change in the supply chain and distribution models, as well as an improving shift in technology, more and more employees are not only capable of doing their jobs from home but are being encouraged to.
Retailers in specific are being forced to look deeper into their supply chains. This global pandemic has exposed how truly vulnerable our global supply networks are. Retailers took it for granted and were rocked by the impact of the outbreak. 👇
Retailers have now been forced to investigate their inventory plans – both online and offline – in order to better understand and navigate potential interruptions. But most importantly, those retailers that have managed to strengthen their online presence have thrived. ⤵
Those with a digital presence have been ahead of the game, making themselves available to consumers forced to stay at home. The most advanced companies have managed to capture their share of the market by using this pandemic as a chance to innovate and improve their business model.
🗨 The ones that can’t make that shift, that are stuck in the past, are already feeling the impact. More than 20 major retailers have either filed for bankruptcy or plan to do so sometime in the near future. Simply put the evolution into digital transformation can mean life or death for some businesses.
Finally, customers are depending on the brands that they know and trust. Customers are more impacted now than ever by restrictions like social distancing, maintaining proper personal hygiene, and all of the other current preventative measures being put into place. 🔻
🛍 Customers are then turning to the brands that they know and trust to lead the way. They expect better services while showing respect and concern for their safety. The brands that are able to meet this demand, to accelerate their digital transformation, are the ones that will stay ahead of the curve. 👇
◆ Digital Transformation and the Differences it Can Make on a Business
Retailers need to be flexible and responsive in this day and age. The ❄ COVID-19 outbreak taught some retailers that the hard way and it won’t be an overnight transition. Some retailers are already in different stages of that transformation but have positioned themselves well.
They are using operational data in order to improve their insights on IT, their supply chain, and the adapting needs of their customer base. They are also developing and deploying the processes and tools necessary to serve their customer base more effectively. 👇
Automation is also becoming important. Retail, in particular, has demanded of here and now from the customer base. Automation allows for that need to be met without significant contributions to overhead and maintenance.
Cloud automation is becoming a major factor as well. Being able to access everything virtually and moving away from physical space has changed many aspects of the retail world and abroad. Strong adoption of DevOps has also allowed for better application modernization, sustenance, and delivery.
If anything, COVID-19 has merely rushed the digital transformation timeline forward. It was happening at its own pace and the need for safety and accessibility only enhanced the transformation. As is the case with any transformation in business, those who innovate and move forward thrive. Those who do not are left in the graveyard.🔚
Source: Plat