Retailers are being hit hard by the commercial restrictions of the Coronavirus, none more so than those without a digital presence.
However, it would be naive to expect everything to return to normal once the virus stops circulating. For better or for worse, 2020 has changed the retail landscape forever, especially due to the rapid changes in the economic landscape around the world.
In fact, retailers are bearing the brunt of much of this, having to stop trading during the closure periods. It is likely that there will continue to be ongoing restrictions in 2021, even during the vaccination period. The fact is that, in the current climate, digital is not a 'nice to have', but a must for retailers to survive.
Life after Covid-19 and Digital Transformation - digital is the key
Digital first will be the strategy for companies looking to do business by the end of 2021 and 2022, not just from a sales perspective, but also to find business efficiency.
It would be fair to say that, before this year, retailers focusing on a physical experience may not have examined the online user experience too closely. Now, the digital user experience must be tested and refined to keep the attention and spending of the fickle consumer.
The customer's journey from \'initial interest\' to \'final purchase\' must be optimized to be achieved with the minimum number of clicks and in the shortest possible time.
This means personalizing online offers, serving items that customers might like based on previous purchases. It also means offering a variety of transactional features that make virtual shopping interactions as easy as possible.
A technological infrastructure makes all the difference in this new scenario, for example, payment options, easy, fast (and free) shipping, quick exchanges and returns, as well as instant online customer service to resolve any problems.
Customers may abandon their carts when they are hit with unexpected costs, such as high shipping fees, or discover that the item they want is out of stock or if the purchase process is too slow.
Finding out where the churn is occurring and what the trouble spots are that are causing online consumers to drop off, and solving these problems quickly, can mean the difference between staying in business or fighting now and beyond the pandemic.
Who's right?
A great example of digital transformation in retail success is large retailers. Despite having been in operation for longer, many brands realized that they needed to take even greater advantage of the potential of the virtual retail environment, especially for their digitally savvy customers, who often do their research online before visiting a store.
Although a large proportion of customers were already engaging with brands on their mobile devices, for many companies, their mobile site was not fully optimized and the payment types did not always work well on their digital platforms.
To solve the challenges, retailers worked in collaboration with IT companies to optimize their technological infrastructureFor example, optimizing where the old site is hosted to support future high demand, as well as correcting errors where it wasn't working in terms of sales or customer experience.
In just a few weeks, you can achieve new conversion rates by reducing your bounce rate and increasing the number of pages per session. Simply by optimizing your IT infrastructure and user experience, you can boost your sales.
Omnichannel experiences and the future of retail
It's important to remember that companies with an existing digital presence that were able to turn around quickly after closing up store are the ones that remain in operation in 2021.
The insight into supply chains and processes offered by digital platforms provides retailers with agility, along with the ability to automate some processes to increase efficiency and reduce costs in many cases.
It's also important to note that, to drive online retail success, simply "having a website" isn't enough. Retailers need to have a truly omnichannel strategy, bringing together experience in websites, physical stores, social networks, IT infrastructure and sales events to ensure that they attract and retain consumer attention in a cohesive way.
Facilitating the myriad of customer needs on these channels is also important. Most customers will research the product before making a purchasing decision. They may visit a store, read reviews, buy later online or buy in-store but track delivery online.
In essence, the linear customer journey is no longer the norm. Therefore, basic customer service requirements, such as online returns and exchanges, online 'trying on', same-day delivery, in-store purchase with delivery and immediate advice and assistance, are vital for business moving forward.
Keeping the retail sector strong requires innovation
The good news is that retail can enjoy a new and exciting resurgence with the right digital platforms and investment in innovation.
By switching to an intelligent and intuitive e-commerce platform, retailers can scale up or down, collect customer data, offer immediate customer service and advice, and even use the power of augmented reality to enhance the online customer experience.
Even traditional consumer brands are reformulating their sales strategies to now sell direct to the consumer. Companies already known in the market are opening their first virtual stores amid Covid to guarantee operations in 2021.
By making a retail strategy digital first, brands are in an excellent position not only to take advantage of major sales events to finish strong in 2021, but also to find efficiencies and have the agility to scale up or down as the market dictates.
Contact the experts at Conversys now and find out about Aruba Networks' security, network management and connectivity solutions. We're on hand to help you overcome new challenges.
About Conversys
Conversys IT Solutions is a provider of Information and Communication Technology services and solutions operating throughout Brazil.
With a highly qualified technical and commercial team and a network of partners that includes the main global technology manufacturers, Conversys IT Solutions is able to deliver customized IT and Telecom Infrastructure solutions to clients.
We invest in our employees and partners and strive for a long-lasting relationship with our clients, because we believe that this is how we gain the skills and knowledge we need to innovate and generate value for the businesses in which we operate.
