Raj Pandya, Commercial Director, Specialty Solutions
The combination of technology and the pandemic means the world of retail is changing quicker than ever before. Customers’ expectations of their retail experiences are very different to what they were just a few years ago, and how retailers should respond varies hugely between bigger and smaller businesses in particular.
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One area that all retailers are currently exploring is omnichannel retail: the concept of connecting up different physical and virtual touchpoints to create a seamless, personalised, end-to-end experience. But according to Raj Pandya, Ingram Micro’s Commercial Director for Specialty Solutions, it’s not quite as simple as it might sound.
“I think a lot of retailers now are making huge investments in that experience,” he says. “And it’s not just going in store to purchase, but having online, social media, delivery, curb side click and collect as well: all of those experiences are becoming far more important to the consumer. But it’s not an investment you can make overnight: it takes six to nine months to plan and plot what a good omnichannel strategy should look like.”
Raj also believes that omnichannel will be far more beneficial for large retailers than for smaller independent operations: “The other challenge that every retailer has is customer loyalty. The smaller chains are far more interactive with the consumer, so they don’t really need that ability to offer an omnichannel strategy. You are going to go to that store because you go for the experience and the knowledge that store offers.”
The changes in consumer expectations are also leading to a shift in focus in retail technology innovation. In particular, the move away from cash towards more card and digital payments have given retailers the chance to explore more flexible point-of-sale technologies. It’s one of the reasons that Raj and his team at Ingram Micro are working closely with many retailers and integrators to develop more advanced, agile and intuitive POS and customer-focused systems.
“A lot of retailers, and certainly medium and large retailers, have invested heavily in their
POS systems, and there are two innovations I find really interesting,” says Raj. “One is the mobile POS system where store staff can support customers on the move taking payments there and then. The other is around eReceipts and loyalty schemes that allow retailers to communicate and incentivise their customers, although that comes with it’s own challenges because a lot more consumers are very cautious about how much of their data they want to give a retailer. Done correctly though it can build strong relationships between retailers and consumers”
Technology can also help improve the customer experience itself. Raj believes that the actual experience of going into a store and engaging with the brand, product and staff will only become more important to consumers - and that personalisation and machine learning can add an extra dimension to that engagement.
“I’m seeing lots of good retailers using machine learning and the ability to interact with technology,” Raj recalls. “For example, with new technology you don’t actually have to go and try something on: you can see what the clothes or furnishings would look like just using your own smart phone or smart display technology. Using AR applications you can experiment with a product, opening the door for up sale and personalisation options. I think machine learning can be great for retail because it can do so many things.”
All of this means that it’s an exciting time to be involved in retail, and therefore an exciting time for Raj’s team. As well as mobile POS, there are various other innovations and technologies that we’re actively working to deploy within more retailers. “We’re working with many of the top grocers on click-and-collect, and on self-shop where customers scan their own items as they work their way around the store. We’re also pursuing the drop ship model where a customer places an order, and the retailer then arranges for the product to be shipped from the supplier to the customer directly.”
Looking further into the future, Raj feels that sustainability will become more and more important in consumer buying priorities, especially as consumers become more aware about the provenance of their purchases. “They want to really understand the products they’re looking to buy,” he explains. “Technology can help to simplify this communication, offering opportunities for customers to understand the products they are looking to purchase in a seamless way. Using speciality solutions you can gamify an experience, engaging your customers as they shop and learn. We’re seeing this in practice as some stores implement technology that can direct customers to products and allow them to scan an item to learn more about it’s production.”