R "Ray" Wang
R "Ray" Wang
Event Report: Insights From #NRF15 Retail's Big Show Highlight Need For Continuity Of Experience
Attendees Buoyed By Economic Recovery Optimism At This Year's Big Show
The 2015 annual big show brought 33,000+ attendees to New York to explore the future of retail. From the movers and shakers in the brand world to the hot retail technology vendors, the mood was buoyant and the outlook more positive than in year's past. Some key insights from the event include:
- Dominance of ApplePay. After years of NFC and payment tech wars, the sheer scale of Apple Pay adoption may be what unifies consumer to technology to retailer in contactless payments. Constellation estimates that almost 2 out of 3 contactless payment transactions stem from ApplePay. The reach to over 700 financial institutions and the wide adoption at NRF15 shows how Apple has addressed both the supply side and the demand side.
- Death of omni-channel and a focus on contextual relevancy. Customers still don't care what department one is in nor do they care about what channel one does not support. Consumers expect a single, unified response. Retailers must deliver continuity across all experiences through ubiquitous channels as context reinvents who, what, when, where, how the consumer engages in the point of sale.
- Rise of big data insights. Retail has quickly moved from gut feel to data driven decision making. Witness the adoption of in store beacons, geo fenced wifi, internet of things, and location based services on mobile apps. Almost every discussion involved the digitization of retail. From how data was collected, what information was shared, how insights were surfaced, how patterns were used to guide decisions, the story moved beyond big data to what actions were taken based on insights from big data.
- Interest in connected fitting rooms. While the rash of technologies to bridge the digital divide with the analog world is nothing new, this year saw the digitization of the in-store experience to match the digital experience. One example is the transformation of the fitting room experience from disconnected, isolated chambers to a high tech, rich shopping experience. High end luxury store concepts enable consumers to search and have items brought to them directly from interactive consoles. Expect mobile apps to replace the high end concepts over time to reach and service this captive audience.
Learn more about how to disrupt digital business. Preorder Disrupting Digital Business, published by Harvard Business Review Press.
The Bottom Line: The Heart Of Retail Is Crafting Engaging Emotional Connections And Delivering Frictionless Logistical Experience
The digitization of retail is more than just a website, a mobile payment, or connected fitting room. The consumer expects continuity across channels and devices, departments, and experiences. Delivering on ubiquitious channels requires consumers to share a little of their identity and context in exchange for beneficial convenience. Success in this area is not easy. In fact, developing this value exchange requires a trust framework and transparency with the consumer on the promised benefits. Retailers will have to work hard to show these benefits. Those that earn the right balance of trust and transparency will lead the way in dominating the digitization of retail.
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Resources
- Trends: 9 Actions to Consider Before 2015 For Digital Transformation
- Research Report: Inside The 2015 Boardroom Priorities (Parts 1 & 2)
- Monday’s Musings: Why The Third Generation Of Enterprise Mobile Is Designed For Digital Transformation
- Quips: Digital Transformation – Defining The Fundamental Elements For Digital CXOs
- Personal Log: Coming soon! Disrupting Digital Business – The Book
- News Analysis: Adobe EchoSign’s Electronic Signatures Goes 100% Mobile
- Monday’s Musings: Who Gets To Be A Chief Digital Officer?
- Monday’s Musings: The Seven Rules For Digital Business And Digital Transformation
- Tuesday’s Tip: Five Steps To Starting Your Digital Transformation Initiative
- Monday’s Musings: What Organizations Want From Mobile
- Research Summary: Economic Trends Exacerbate Digital Business Disruption And Digital Transformation (The Futurist Framework Part 3)
- Research Summary: Five Societal Shifts Showcase The Digital Divide Ahead (The Futurist Framework Part 2)
- Research Summary: Sneak Peaks From Constellation’s Futurist Framework And 2014 Outlook On Digital Disruption
- Research Report: Digital ARTISANs – The Seven Building Blocks Behind Building A Digital Business DNA
- Research Summary: Five Societal Shifts Showcase The Digital Divide Ahead (The Futurist Framework Part 2)
- Research Summary: Next Generation CIOs Aspire To Focus More On Innovation And The Chief Digital Officer Role
- Trends: [VIDEO] The Digital Business Disruption Ahead Preview – NASSCOM India Leadership Forum (#NASSCOM_ILF)
- News Analysis: New #IBMWatson Business Group Heralds The Commercialization Of Cognitive Computing. Ready For Augmented Humanity?
- Harvard Business Review: What a Big Data Business Model Looks Like
- Monday’s Musings: How The Five Consumer Tech Macro Pillars Influence Enterprise Software Innovation
- Tuesday’s Tip: Understand The Five Generation Of Digital Workers And Customers
- Monday’s Musings: The Chief Digital Officer In The Age Of Digital Business
- Slide Share: The CMO vs CIO – Pathways To Collaboration
- Event Report: CRM Evolution 2013 – Seven Trends In The Return To Digital Business And Customer Centricity
- News Analysis: Sitecore Acquires Commerce Server In Quest Towards Customer Experience Management
- News Analysis: Salesforce 1 Signals Support For Digital Business at #DF13
- Research Summary And Speaker Notes: The Identity Manifesto – Why Identity Is At The Heart of Digital Business
Reprints
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