Taking into consideration the trends going into COVID-19, and those that have accelerated as a result of it, it is our opinion that success rests in being:
- Platform-centric: Utilizing AI for scale and optimization
- Context-minded: Exploiting everywhere being a point of demand and conversion
- Service-Led: Creating solutions for mission and occasions
- Tech-fueled: Leveraging connected ecosystems
- Algorithmic-driven: Data-driven insights for relevancy and accessibility
The pandemic has highlighted the need to prepare for immersive shopping experiences. Tech-driven O2O solutions will seamlessly incorporate stores into the digital reality. Social platforms, digital media, mobile apps, marketplaces, Internet of Things, voice commerce and other digital platforms will all coalesce into a distributed retail value chain.
Success requires focusing on:
- Building networks, collaborating and partnering
- Leveraging every touchpoint as a sales and marketing opportunity
- Enabling conversations and conversion everywhere
- Providing alternatives to goods through services
- Enabling experiential discovery and friction-free purchasing at point of demand
- Providing personalized, relevant, seamless experiences, delivered efficiently
Click here to read our latest strategic insights to understand what is required to win post-pandemic.