Technology can be frustrating, but when a malfunction in systems impacts thousands of customers, it’s more than frustrating – it can be detrimental to a brand. While technology offers retailers opportunities for products and engagements that weren’t possible in the past, it also comes with its fair share of issues from security to connectivity. Is the technology that retailers are utilizing today worth the potential problems it can cause?
Technology is a Problem and a Solution
It’s true that traditional retail is changing. Evolving storefronts and innovative online experiences are made possible by an array of technologies – but are the solutions these technologies offer greater than the problems that accompany them? Seema Pajula, vice chairman and US consumer industry leader at Deloitte LLP recently spoke about how technology can have both positive and negative impacts on retailers.
“Since 2012 retailers have experienced drastic reductions in ROA (return on assets), a significant industry metric,” said Pajula. “While retail sales are at an all-time high, it costs much more to execute and deliver than in the past. Profitability’s been compressed across the entire value chain. The dominant players are re-communicating their value proposition to customers by their ability to blend digital and physical worlds into one holistic brand experience.”
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Walmart Leveraging Voice Technology
Walmart is using technology in its favor to engage customers and boost sales with voice ordering technology. With Voice Order, customers use a virtual assistant like the Google voice and add items to their grocery cart. Once their cart is ready to go, they simply pick a store and time to grab their items.
“We know when using voice technology, customers like to add items to their cart one at a time over a few days – not complete their shopping for the week all at once,” says Tom Ward, senior vice president of digital operations for Walmart U.S. “So, this capability aligns with the way customers shop.”
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Recently, Target faced technology issues that shutdown internal computer systems for a few hours over the course of two days. While Target representatives explained that this was not a Target issues, but an issue with the data centers used, it caused problems for customers and impacted sales.
For retailers to provide the best customer journey to their consumers, it’s important that their technology is up to the task. While this incident negatively impacted the brand for a short period, the company is working to leverage new technologies that will improve the customer experience in the future including same-day delivery options for over 65,000 products.
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