The road to business resilience: What it is and why it matters to retailers
Martina Klenkhart
Go-to-Market Lead for Retail and Consumer Goods Industries, Microsoft Western Europe
I think most of us are familiar with the saying of “fall seven times – rise up eight”. Not only is it applicable to life itself but also to the perseverance and resilience that the last couple of years has brought to all types businesses around the world.
Let’s recap some of the challenges the retail world has faced. During the pandemic, eCommerce soared and while it is still important, people have rediscovered physical shops. Staffing challenges – including high employee turnover rates – negatively impact the customer experience. Meanwhile, the business outlook is under pressure due to rising interest rates and increased inflation, which affect the purchasing power of your customers. Furthermore, the pace of innovation keeps accelerating.
When you’re figuring out how to respond to this VUCA-world (that’s volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity), a good place to start is by understanding that data is your greatest asset. Combined with the right technology, your data will help you join the dots between physical and online retail, so that your customers get seamless and consistent experiences. It will help you develop meaningful personalized services, differentiate your offer, and increase your competitiveness – from the supply chain to the store.
Ombori is working with fashion retailer H&M: their solution Ombori Grid SaaS creates standout digital experiences in the stores. Innovations like the Voice Interactive Mirror inspires H&M customers to “shop the look”, a mobile experience that helps them to navigate the store and discover special offers.
AiFi is helping Zabka Polska, the largest chain of autonomous convenience stores in Europe. They use AiFi Autonomous Shopping, a flexible AI platform for retailers to scale autonomous shopping solutions. The smart store analytics delivers a checkout-free shopping experience and insights on shopper movements throughout the store, helping inform decisions about where to place offers or high-ticket items.
With all this innovation at our fingertips, we are living in an exciting time where anything is possible in retail, but we also need to be mindful and learn from the past. That way we can put resilience front and center so that we are in the best shape to handle whatever comes next.
