How retailers are adapting to a post lockdown world
As non-essential English retailers prepare to re-open their stores on 15th June, RTIH looks at some of the innovative measures being deployed by their international counterparts who are already up and running.
Robots
Self-driving cars have been spotted in some neighbourhoods in China. These robots are part of Cainiao’s efforts to create contactless solutions for last-mile deliveries in the wake of Covid-19. See them in action here.
Livestreaming
“I wonder when shops open up again, if UK retailers will also adopt livestreaming more, granted not all shoppers will be confident to enter physical spaces still. In Hong Kong, we’re seeing a lot of shopping malls set scheduled live stream shopping sessions with their tenants,” retail analyst Tiffany Lung recently tweeted.
See also our recent article in which Connie Chan, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz and board member at HYSTA, predicts that the next Amazon competitor will be a social or video app, not a shopping app.
Blending physical and digital experiences
Starbucks is speeding up plans to upgrade its US store portfolio as it looks to bounce back from the coronavirus outbreak.
Over the next 18 months, it will increase its focus on drive-thru and curbside pickup options, as well as mobile order only Starbucks Pickup locations in dense markets, including New York City, Chicago, Seattle and San Francisco.
These will be powered by the retailer’s app which is integral to ordering and paying ahead as well as engaging its 19.4 million Rewards members.
“Starbucks stores have always been known as the ’third place,’ a welcoming place outside of our home and work where we connect over a cup of coffee,” says CEO Kevin Johnson.
“As we navigate through the Covid-19 crisis, we are accelerating our store transformation plans to address the realities of the current situation, while still providing a safe, familiar and convenient experience for our customers.”
Augmented reality
Augmented reality is one to watch in a post-coronavirus world, according to Brittain Ladd, a supply chain consultant who has also worked at Amazon, Deloitte and Capgemini.
“Jeff Bezos says that what customers want are speed and choice. I agree with his comments. However, over the next several years, even when autonomous vehicles and possibly even drones if they’re adapted by grocery retailers, supply chains and last mile delivery will only be able to increase in speed incrementally,” he comments.
If that’s the case, what technology can be utilised by consumers to significantly increase shopping for groceries (and other retail products)? “I believe the answer is AR. By 2030, I believe it’s possible that consumers will choose to shop via AR,” he says.
This is due to increased speed. It will allow consumers to set foot inside a virtual store where they can purchase the same products they physically shop for today.
“Consumers can pick up products, read labels, ask questions, and make a purchase all while sitting in their favourite chair wearing a VR headset or by 2030, maybe VR glasses,” Ladd states.
Blockchain technology
The coronavirus has shone a light on the need for transparency in retailers’ supply chains.
VeChain has partnered with Walmart China subsidiary Sam’s Club on an initiative involving its food products. PricewaterhouseCoopers will participate in the Blockchain Traceability Platform project.
Since 2019, PwC China and Walmart China have been developing the Walmart China Blockchain Traceability Platform on the VeChain blockchain.
Sam’s Club will tap into a modified version of VeChain’s ToolChain platform, alongside software sensors, hardware sensors and Internet of Things technologies, to automatically upload data from its supply chain onto the blockchain.
Customers will then be able to access information on the origin of products by scanning QR codes in stores.
Virtual queues
O2 is using virtual queuing technology to reopen its stores in Northern Ireland.
Customers will receive a text when an advisor is ready to assist them in a one to one appointment. NHS and care workers who show their ID badges will also be given VIP access to skip the queue to speak to an advisor in-store.
Further details here.
Redefining digital strategies
Julie Carlyle, EY UK&I Head of Retail, argues that, as consumer companies look to more permanently de-risk the consumer experience and step into recovery, investment in digital capabilities will be critical.
“We expect to see greater use of the smartphone as an interface generally. Why touch a public ATM screen, for example, when a code number typed into your phone could confirm your identity? Voice commands and face ID will be used more widely. Cashier-free stores will become more appealing. This is just the start,” she comments.
New shopping experiences will become possible as personal technologies become more integral to everyday life, Carlyle believes. Consumers may also become more willing to share their biometric data to get clothes that fit perfectly without having to try them on. Haptic technology could allow people to “feel” products without physical contact.
“Certainly, this will require digital change at an extraordinary pace, but there is a clear opportunity for companies to take hold of and thrive,” Carlyle says. “Adaptability has always been crucial for any consumer-facing business, but it will be more important than ever for companies if they are to emerge stronger from this pandemic.”