Consumer expectations are evolving and retailers are under more pressure than ever to come up with compelling propositions for consumers. As the EY Future Consumer Index study shows, consumers want retailers to make their lives easier, better and more satisfying.
As inflation creates a significant increase in production costs and retail prices in most markets, retailers are forced to focus on optimizing costs, improving the efficiency of distribution networks and looking for new ways to deliver added value to consumers.
Some of the main trends in the Retail market are:
Increase of online shopping
It is nothing new, but the way consumers make purchasing decisions has changed dramatically, and the online environment has a very large weight. The purchase decision is now not only based on the availability of the product in the physical store and the price, but also depends on the reviews on social media, online price comparisons or the delivery time, which must be as short as possible.
Custom marketing campaigns
The influence of custom marketing campaigns will be stronger and stronger. Personalized campaigns take into account the behaviour of customers, their consumption preferences, the type of communication, the online channels accessed (website, social media), the type and frequency of transactions, etc.
Fast delivery
Delivery time can influence a buyer's decision to purchase a product from a particular retailer. Amazon was the first retailer to introduce same-day delivery. On this model, large retailers in Romania, such as Emag, have started to introduce new types of delivery: same-day delivery, scheduled delivery, in-store pickup or pickup from delivery points.
Increasing popularity for self-check-out cash registers
The growth of self-checkout is another effect of changes in shopping behavior. An innovation even before the COVID-19 pandemic, adopted by retailers who wanted to offer the consumer a different shopping experience, self-check-out houses grew in popularity in a time when human contact was to be avoided as much as possible. very possible. According to a study conducted by Verizon Look Forward, 23% of attendees now use self-check-out kiosks, and this trend is expected to continue.
The need for sustainability
Sustainability has gone from nice-to-have to must-have in recent years, a trend that will continue in the years to come. Interest in sustainability is seen at the level of consumers who want to know how a product is manufactured, where and under what conditions. Moreover, there is a growing attention to the post-consumer moment, namely the collection and recycling of materials and packaging, in order to try to limit the impact of climate change.
Entersoft Retail turns goals into results
BITSoftware offers a state-of-the-art end-to-end solution that incorporates best business practices for retail companies to keep pace with consumer demands. The solution integrates applications, equipment and services and fully covers the operational requirements of managing a store or a network of stores. Entersoft Retail is the optimal solution for store chains and franchises and integrates with the ERP, CRM and e-Commerce solution - Entersoft Business Suite and with other ERP solutions on the market.
Entersoft Retail, a modern, stand-alone application designed specifically for the retail industry, with hybrid functions (online and offline) integrates in the back-office with the ERP&CRM solution, Entersoft Business Suite and with third-party solutions on the market. The solution automates workflows and accelerates processes to minimize operational costs and increase overall efficiency by providing customer support and a better in-store experience.
The reporting system offered by Entersoft Retail® is complete and detailed, starting from standard reports to dynamic reports, in which the necessary information can be combined. With Entersoft Retail, customer needs and market trends can be analyzed in real time, all of which lead to improved end-consumer experience and increased competitiveness.
See more details about the end-to-end software solution for Retail and request a custom presentation.
