The retailer is the last stage of the supply chain, which plays an important role in supplying final products to real consumers. Currently, a significant part of the world economy is at the disposal of this industry. In other words, a retailer is a person or store or institution that offers the product to the final consumer. In the past, retail was traditional and retailers were in face-to-face contact with consumers. Today, the essence of retail in this industry has undergone significant changes and transformations with the use of modern tools. Join us to tell you how you can develop your business in the present and take control of the future of your retail sales by introducing new tools.
Online markets, a revolution in retail
A real revolution has occurred in the retail world, which has completely changed location-based buying and selling and introduced other sales tools based on the digital world and virtual networks into the retail arena. During the last two decades, with the expansion of mobile phones and their smartness, the world of retail has entered a new era, which is a new form of this industry, and it is called electronic retail or E-tailing (abbreviated as Electronic Retailing). Although location-based sales, i.e. physical stores, have not yet lost their prosperity and are expanding day by day, their sales methods and methods have undergone many changes. It is better to say that with the advancement of technology, this revolution has also covered Iran’s retail sales and in the last few years, retail sales has become one of the fastest growing in Iran’s economy.
Effective factors in this revolution
E-commerce and artificial intelligence have been effective factors in the retail revolution and the promotion of sales. In this revolution, we use different channels for marketing: omni channels and multi-channels for sales and marketing in the retail industry.
Multichannel Omni Channel (Omni Channel) in retail
In multi-channel marketing, a business uses different channels to interact with consumers and deal with customers. However, these channels are managed separately and work independently of each other. In multi-channel marketing, the opportunity for consumers to move between different channels is greatly reduced or non-existent. Different departments and teams in a company may communicate, but their efforts are not unified. But in omni-channel marketing, it makes it possible to expand the customer’s access to the information of a product anywhere. The customer can receive information about a product or product with his mobile phone, and by confirming the purchase, he will visit the store and receive his product, and in subsequent purchases, he can request the product again through the social network of that company or store. give the other. In multi-channel marketing, this integration does not exist. In these two methods, omni-channel has better efficiency and results to retain customers. Now we will examine the cases of e-commerce and artificial intelligence that have changed the type of retail sales:
E-commerce and the use of artificial intelligence tools in retailers
The increasing use of e-commerce platforms is one of these developments. We live in a world of two branches; Where online and offline sales are merging. Electronic retail (E-Retailing, E-Tailing) means the sale of retail goods using electronic tools, especially the Internet, and with its own components such as trust model, Internet payment, delivery process, etc.
The future of retail is artificial intelligence and creating smarter services. Retailers can now use the data they already have. They can use this data to create smarter services equipped with artificial intelligence, such as voice assistants (Alexa and Google Home) and other emerging smart devices. With such changes, cars will increasingly become customers of retailers, and this is a positive direction for the retail industry, provided that the retailer does not remain in the traditional way and has evolved.
Humans and Machines Are Retailers’ Customers: With these changes, machines are increasingly becoming retailers’ customers. For example, appliances like refrigerators and freezers can decide when it’s time to reorder food. Our cars can seek service or pay for parking automatically.
According to Forbes, the highest sales of online retailers have been announced:
- Amazon
- Kroger
- Nike
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Retail Trade Index Division released its December 2021 Retail Trade Monthly Report on Wednesday, February 16, providing a complete picture of online retail sales in 2021. The key statistic is that US retail sales for 2021 will be $6.6 trillion, representing a 17.9% year-over-year increase. The previous year, 2021, was one of the strongest years in U.S. retail history, growing more than twice as fast as in the previous 30 years. Brick-and-mortar stores grew faster than e-commerce for the first time, with brick-and-mortar stores growing 18.5 percent versus e-commerce growth of 14.2 percent. This 14.2% growth is slightly higher than the typical annual growth rate, but well below the 31.8% growth in e-commerce in 2020.
“www.forbes.com”
Fast online customer support
The easiest and probably the cheapest way to create customer loyalty is to satisfy the customer, and this loyalty is initially from the seller to the customer, and customer support is considered very important and special in the retail industry, online customers and face-to-face customers. If they maintain their relationship with the store or company that provides products and services where they have a sense of security, purchase security and security, support and ease of purchase are very important points that customers expect from the product or service provider.
With planning and smart tools, you can save customer information and respond to customers in the shortest possible time in case of any issue, and with this method, you can keep customers in the retail industry, and your planning for a long-term future is fundamental. By having a mechanized cash register in physical stores and having customer phone information, you can have their information if the customer buys again, on the other hand, if you need support, you can have the customer’s purchase history and respond to customers quickly and in the shortest time.
With the increasing growth of networks and smart tools to have a clear vision of the retail industry in the desired area, it is better to improve your economic performance by having the best tools and new management methods. You will profit a lot!!
