Sean Tarry Writes.

A confluence of creativity, innovation, technological advancement, and retail intuition leading to improvements and enhancements across the industry

By Sean Tarry

Over the course of the past few years, retailers in countries around the world have been presented with a number of challenges and hurdles to overcome in order to remain competitive. Labour shortages, supply chain issues and escalating inflation are but a handful of these challenges and hurdles, giving rise to the need for greater operational- and cost-efficiencies and the concept of a unified approach in order to satisfy these business objectives.

In light of this, Retail Insider the magazine, in partnership with DropIt, gathered some of the industries brightest minds together for an exclusive Retail Executive Roundtable discussion. With a focus on a unified approach to sales and fulfillment, participants shared the ways in which they’re leveraging the latest advancements in retail technology in order to revolutionize omnichannel performance and optimize operations, while exceeding customer expectations and fueling future growth and strategy.

RITM: Retail has gone through a bit of a transformation over the course of the past 10-15 years with the explosion of ecommerce and increased mobile penetration, resulting in an array of channels through which today’s consumer can shop and purchase products. The COVID-19 global pandemic accelerated online and mobile trends, increasing expectations related to the retail shopping experience. With this in mind, what in your estimation are the expectations of today’s consumer when it comes to the omnichannel retail experience? 

Lesley Hawkins Consumers are looking for more! They have the ability to buy any product at any time from anywhere, just by using the device that never leaves their hand. As retailers, we need to give consumers a reason to get into their car or jump on a bus or train to head to brick and mortar locations. It starts with the consumer experience – providing personalized service that they cannot get anywhere else. Knowing your consumer – what they like, what size they wear, their personal taste – and then reaching out when collections or products drop that would fulfil those needs. Next, we need to create a seamless consumer journey, so if we don’t have something in store that they want, we can order it for them online from the store floor, and have it delivered to their home or preferably back to the store, so we can continue the service.  

Samir Kulkarni: Today’s consumers are certainly living in a digital age, where convenience, speed, and efficiency are paramount. However, the expectations of the modern consumer extend beyond just these elements:

o Convenience and Flexibility: Today’s consumers expect a seamless and flexible shopping experience.  They want the freedom to shop from wherever they are, whether it’s in a physical store, on their laptop at home, or via their mobile device on the go. This flexibility includes options like Buy Online, Pickup In Store (BOPIS), and Buy Online, Return In Store (BORIS). These offerings allow consumers to blend their online and offline shopping experiences in a way that suits their personal needs and preferences. The possibility of easy returns and quick shipping are also important facets of this expectation.

o Social Connection: Despite the increasing shift towards digital commerce, consumers continue to value social connections. They appreciate businesses that engage with them on a personal level, whether it’s through social media interactions, personalized emails, live chat, or face-to-face conversations in a physical store. Retailers that are able to create a sense of community and connection are likely to enjoy a more loyal and engaged customer base.

Discovery and Interactivity: Consumers still love the thrill of discovery. They want to find new, unique, and trending products, and they want to be able to interact with these products before making a purchase. This is particularly relevant for a retailer like Showcase, which specializes in carrying viral, hard-to-find products. The ability to see, touch, and try these products in a physical store adds a level of excitement and confidence to the shopping experience that can’t always be replicated online.

In-Person Experiences: Even as e-commerce grows, there’s still a strong desire for in-person shopping experiences. Consumers appreciate the immediacy and tangibility of brick-and-mortar stores. They enjoy the ability to try out products in real-time, get expert advice from sales associates, and take their purchases home with them right away.

The most successful retailers will be those who can effectively integrate these various elements into a cohesive, omnichannel retail strategy. While we have not reached a fully unified state, we will thrilled that our team was recognized as the Omnichannel Retail Winner by the Excellence in Retailing Awards in 2022.

Eric: I think today’s consumer is looking to have what they want, when they want it, where they want it in a unified and consistent way regardless of the channel.  And as a retailer, if we want to remain relevant in the customer’s eyes, it’s our obligation to deliver on these expectations.  The proliferation of ecommerce throughout the pandemic allowed us to garner more market share and introduce our unparalleled service in-store to many customers who were introduced to us digitally.  Many customers bought online and picked up in store and even returns in-store were an opportunity for our sales team to spoil the customer and give them a reason to shop with us again.

Ilana Santone: The retail landscape was already evolving at an incredible pace when COVID-19 changed customers’ expectations rapidly and permanently. Now, as we moved beyond the challenges of the pandemic, customers have been returning to stores as they offer immediacy, discovery, and more convenience. At the same time, customers are continuing to shop using digital channels and are taking advantage of convenient options such as click-and-collect, curbside pick-up, and deliver-to-home. Omnichannel is now the expectation and retailers that provide the most seamless experience across digital and physical channels and allow customers to choose how and when they shop will be the ones who continue to succeed and grow. 

At Canadian Tire Corporation, specifically, the challenges of the pandemic accelerated our digital evolution. We know our customers want and expect a seamless omnichannel experience and are investing accordingly. Through our $3.4 billion Better Connected strategy, we are investing $2.2 billion to create a connected omnichannel customer experience, including expanding our Triangle Rewards loyalty program to drive customer engagement and fuel growth across our banners, improving the connection between our digital and physical channels to drive an enhanced customer experience, and transforming the online user experience across all banners through our One Digital Platform.

Stewart Schafer: Despite where the shopping ids taking place, whether it’s in-store or online, and regardless of the ways retailers develop to engage with them, or how they implement and use AI and other digital technologies, consumers ultimately want their experience to be seamless and convenient. Prior to COVID, the whole world thought that brick-and-mortar was falling apart and that digital would eventually replace just about every aspect of and touchpoint within the retail consumer journey. When COVID hit, you were probably out of business pretty quickly if you didn’t already have a digital presence. And then, when COVID ended, people started to be reminded of the fact that 68 per cent of the Canadian GDP is driven by shopping. It’s an experience that people really enjoy. We just need to consistently ensure that the experience that we offer at store level matches the seamlessness and convenience of our online offering.

RITM: What are some of the biggest challenges that retailers face today when trying to meet these evolving consumer needs and preferences across various channels? 

Lesley Hawkins: Omnichannel is today’s buzzword, and while retailers are striving to achieve a truly seamless experience, it is not without its challenges. Full integration of all systems is required, but not just the hardware and software, but the ways of working, the company culture and mindset. When consumer tastes change or a trend emerges, it is more challenging for retailers to quickly pivot than an online retailer. It takes time to adjust product assortments, update fixtures, change floor planograms, replace in-store communications.

Samir Kulkarni: Today’s retailers face a number of significant challenges as they strive to meet the evolving needs and preferences of consumers across various channels:

Economic Factors: Perhaps the biggest challenge of channel is about the economics. While ecommerce offers convenience and accessibility to consumers, it often isn’t highly (or even remotely) profitable for retailers. The high costs associated with shipping, particularly for cross-country or even last-mile delivery options, can eat into margins. While consumers have come to expect quick and often free delivery, the reality is that these services come at a significant cost to retailers.

High Return Rates: The issue of returns, particularly for online purchases, is another substantial challenge. This is especially true for industries like fashion, where items often need to be returned due to issues with fit, color, or style. The process of managing these returns can be both costly and complex.

Fraud: E-commerce also opens up new avenues for fraud. Retailers need to invest in robust security measures to protect their customers and their business, which can add to the overall cost of operating an e-commerce platform.

Balancing Online and Offline Experiences: Another challenge lies in creating a seamless experience. Retailers must find a way to integrate their online and offline operations in a way that provides a consistent and engaging customer experience across touchpoints. This includes ensuring inventory visibility, harmonizing pricing and promotions, and offering consistent customer service.

Open Return Policies: While open return policies are appreciated by consumers and can build trust and loyalty, they can also create economic challenges for retailers. These policies can lead to a high volume of returns, which can be costly to process and can also impact inventory management.

While omnichannel retail offers great opportunities for enhancing customer experience and reaching a broader market, it also presents significant challenges. The retailers who will succeed in this environment are those who can find innovative ways to balance consumer expectations with economic realities.

Eric: Customer expectations are at an all-time high. I can order an item on Amazon at 10AM on a Sunday and receive it by 4PM the same day without having to leave the house, deal with traffic, park, etc…  So while we’re working very hard to deliver quickly, that, and that alone, is tough to compete on, especially with the Amazons of the world.  What we have that they don’t is a network of 70 stores from coast to coast.  So, we’re working hard on delivering unforgettable experiences in our stores in order to give our customers a reason to want to visit us time and time again.  But again, it’s not one channel vs the other, it’s how the different channels work together to offer the customer a convenient and unified experience.

Ilana Santone: Customer expectations are constantly evolving, and retailers need to stay up-to-date and ahead of the curve. Customers are increasingly expecting personalized experiences, and deepening one’s understanding of their customers through first-party data is critical for delivering this. Evolving customer expectations also extend to fulfillment, specifically as it relates to speed and convenience through options such as in-store pick-up, same-day delivery, locker pick-up, and flexible returns. Although potentially challenging, providing a seamless, omnichannel customer experience while maintaining cost efficiencies is critical. At the same time, technology is rapidly changing, and retailers must determine the best way to integrate new technology to enhance their customer experience while ensuring customers who rely on more traditional shopping methods are not left behind.  

Stewart Schafer: Sleep Country is just about on the verge on undergoing one of its biggest transformations to date with the introduction of digital channels into our brick-and-mortar stores. It’s a component that will allow for an endless aisle within our physical spaces. The stores themselves won’t be getting any bigger, but the presence of digital channels within the store helps us to broaden our selection of product. Today’s consumer, more than ever before, really wants to shop when, where and how they want to. And, above all, they want choice and options throughout their journey. Providing consumers with the opportunity to come into our store to speak with one of our knowledgeable and friendly sales associates, or come into our store to browse our digital channels, or visit us online from the comfort of their home or wherever else they happen to be, allows them to interact with the Sleep Country brand the way they want to. Combining the very best aspects of the physical retail space and digital technologies is going to help us enable this experience.

RITM: When it comes to satisfying customers, there are few better ways to achieve this than having the product that they’re looking for in-stock and ready to purchase. With respect to inventory visibility and balancing, what in your estimation are some of the things holding retailers back from finding efficiencies and capitalizing on opportunities across all distribution channels? 

Lesley Hawkins: It’s not for lack of desire, but the ERP systems often adopted by companies are more focused on the needs of the wholesale customer than the retailer – we need fast turn, small volume, regular shipments with consistency of delivery to our back door.

Samir Kulkarni: Of course, having the right product available at the right time in the right place is a cornerstone of satisfying retail customers. However, achieving this level of inventory optimization can be challenging due to several factors:

Inventory Balancing: One of the main challenges is balancing inventory between distribution centers and physical stores. This has been a complex issue over the past three years due to supply chain uncertainties and the necessity of having the right stock at the right store at the right time. It has been particularly challenging for time-sensitive categories like seasonal, perishable, and event-based merchandise. At Showcase, we’ve adopted a just-in-time approach where we aim to keep more than 50% of our goods in our distribution centers. This allows us to push products to stores based on their actual rate of sale, ensuring that each store has the stock it needs when it needs it.

Shrinkage: Shrinkage has become a significant issue in recent years, to the point where retailers are closing permanently in high-risk areas. Shrinkage has doubled over the past three years, leading not only to direct loss of sales and margins but also to inaccurate inventory data. This can result in empty shelves, leading to further lost sales. To combat shrinkage, we’ve been investing in increased security measures, more frequent cycle counts, and adding more labor on the sales floor.

Cost Implications: The overall effect of these challenges is an increase in operational costs, which ultimately lead to higher prices for consumers. Managing these costs while still providing the level of service and product availability that customers expect is a key challenge for retailers today. The challenges are many, and retailers need to find innovative ways to manage these issues in order to maintain customer satisfaction while also keeping costs in check.

Eric: It’s always a tough balancing act between keeping your stores stocked vs your DC.  Historically, we opted to keep a larger proportion of our inventory in our DC in order to centralize distribution.  With the launch of our ship from store initiative, in which we can ship orders directly to customers from store, it allows us to A) get orders into customer’s hands faster than ever before, especially in the West, as our DC is in Montreal and B) gives the customer who is shopping in store a higher chance of finding and leaving with what they came for.  From an inventory balancing and customer experience perspective, keeping more stock in store, closer to the end customer is very much a win/win.

Ilana Santone: The challenges of the past few years demonstrated how critical a strong supply chain is. Some retailers are held back by their technology, such as outdated inventory management systems and siloed, decentralized data, which create inaccuracies. Others face inefficient processes, which can create delays and a lack of visibility. One of the ways we are driving inventory accuracy and visibility across our SportChek and Mark’s banners, specifically, is by leveraging Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology, which enables our teams to efficiently track and manage inventory in real-time. Each item tagged with an RFID chip can be identified and located quickly and accurately, eliminating the need for manual counting and reducing errors, ultimately enabling the business to maintain optimal stock levels, reduce out-of-stock situations, and improve overall inventory accuracy.

Inventory visibility is also critical to customers. We display our inventory to ensure customers can easily find it in-store or online and are constantly looking for innovative ways to make finding products even easier. A great example is the capabilities we are building out through our Canadian Tire Retail mobile app: knowing that customers were already using our app while in the store – to make decisions, compare products, check inventory, and find aisle locations – we saw an opportunity to make their shopping experience even easier through flashing electronic shelf labels. While in the store, customers can browse a specific product in their mobile app and, by triggering the “find product” capability, will cause an LED light on the electronic shelf label to flash green for thirty seconds, making it easy for customers to find exactly which product they need. This feature is currently available in 70% of Canadian Tire Retail stores, and we are continuing to build on this to ultimately create an end-to-end wayfinding experience, tailored to each store, enabling customers to find exactly what they are looking for.  

Stewart Schafer: Understanding that we can’t be everything to everyone has been the mantra of Sleep Country for over 29 years. Our focus, including the accessories that we carry, is on what I refer to as non-fashion utility bedding. For example, somewhere around 80 per cent of all sheets sold in Canada are either white, ivory, tope or grey. I’d rather satisfy the needs of 80 per cent of the population who want the item that they’re interested in to be in stock now than compromise our service by trying to bring in a whole other range of product to satisfy the other 20 per cent. At the end of the day, the experience that the customer receives is as important as the product they’re buying. So, we keep a narrow focus and stay in our lanes, which allows us to manage our inventory properly. We also watch our run rates to ensure that we’re keeping at pace during good times as well as bad times. You have to be disciplined in retail. When you’re disciplined  and focused on your product offering, managing your inventory is a lot easier.

RITM: Today’s shopping centre is currently undergoing a bit of an evolution, innovating through the development of mall-based marketplaces to serve an even greater role in reinvigorating local economy, community and culture. In your estimation, in what ways do mall-based marketplaces help to level the playing field for the brands involved?

Samir Kulkarni: The evolution of shopping centers into mall-based marketplaces is indeed an interesting development in retail. However, at Showcase, we haven’t fully embraced this trend yet, due to a few key challenges:

Landlord Fragmentation: We currently operate 150 stores with 28 different landlords. This fragmented landscape makes it administratively complex to manage different marketplace setups for each landlord. The administrative cost associated with maintaining these setups would be considerable. If landlords could come together, perhaps through a body like the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), to create a unified solution for retailers, it might be more feasible for larger chains like Showcase to participate in mall-based marketplaces.

Marketplace Complexity: The marketplace model can be challenging to manage, particularly when starting from scratch. There are numerous complexities involved in setting up and running a marketplace, from inventory management to driving consumer traffic, that can be difficult for a retail brand to manage in addition to their core business. Recently, Loblaw announced the permanent closure of its third-party marketplace, which speaks to the difficulties of the model.

o Marketing Investments: In light of these challenges, it might be more efficient for landlords to return marketing funds to tenants and allow tenants to invest in marketing efforts that are more relevant to their individual needs and strategies. This could include organic social content, paid ads, participation in existing marketplace sites, flyers, and other marketing initiatives.

Eric: Personally, I’m for anything that can help drive traffic and improve the customer experience.  In my opinion, malls also need to focus on giving customers a reason to not only come to the mall but more importantly to stay at the mall longer.  Valet parking, car wash services, improved F&B offerings, specialty food markets, tutoring services for kids, the list goes on.  This is without a doubt an opportunity. 

Ilana Santone: Mall-based marketplaces allow smaller brands to leverage existing infrastructure and marketing tools they may not otherwise have access to. Whether online or bricks and mortar, mall-based marketplaces help smaller brands capitalize on traffic driven through anchor properties, such as Canadian Tire.

Stewart Schafer: There are a lot fewer barriers of entry into the world of retail than there were when I got into the business nearly 30 years ago. And the reason is rooted in the digitization of the industry. Anyone can go online today and create a store to sell product, reaching a broader, wider audience than they could ever attract to their small, physical neighbourhood store. this, in combination with the fact that the ability to source product has changed dramatically, has removed the initial capital intensity of an entry into the industry. And marketplaces go a long way toward removing these barriers, levelling the playing field between brands. They’ve also created a lot more choice for consumers, changing the retail game, resulting in the need for retailers to get that much better at what they do in order to ensure success.

RITM: Ensuring the quick and efficient fulfillment of orders to consumers is obviously an important factor in satisfying their needs. However, it’s not the only one. Today’s consumer is showing an increasing desire to shop with brands that have a focus on sustainability. What are some of the current environmental initiatives within your organizations and how might a more unified approach help enhance those efforts? 

Lesley Hawkins: At adidas, we have committed to replace all virgin polyester products with 100% recycled materials by the end of 2024, and we are nearing our goal already this year. We have a global initiative called Move For The Planet – we have partnered with Common Goal to help encourage everyone to move for the planet. From June 1–12, for every 10 minutes of movement, adidas donated €1 to Common Goal for projects that educate communities on sustainability through sport – up to €1.5M. By 2025, we aim to not only reduce our CO2e footprint per product by 15%, but to achieve climate neutrality in our own operations. And by 2030, we want to reduce CO2e emissions by 30% along the entire value chain. To make this happen, we need to work closely with our global supply chain partners to reduce energy and material consumption and make greater use of green energy sources.

Samir Kulkarni: Sustainability is an increasingly important factor for today’s consumers, and at Showcase, we are mindful of this shift in consumer preferences. We admit that we have much more to do in this area, and we believe all businesses can step up their efforts. Here are some steps we have taken, and thoughts on how a more unified approach can enhance these efforts:

Reusable Bags: In response to the federal plastic bag ban, we now sell reusable bags. This initiative both supports the environment and has converted a cost center into a profit center. We appreciate how the federal legislation made it clear and universal, leveling the playing field and making implementation easier. In the past, municipal and provincial laws, while designed with the right spirit, have been difficult to implement, so a unified federal law has made the path clearer.

Smaller Products and Packages: Freight cost has been extraordinary over the last three years, forcing the issue of how to make products and packages smaller. This has led to the elimination of many bulky and environmentally inefficient products, and the encouragement and launch of products and categories with a small physical and ecological footprint.

Packaging Waste Reduction: More legislation could be beneficial in areas such as packaging waste reduction. The uncomfortable reality is that items with larger packaging often sell better due to a higher perceived value. While this wastes ecological resources, it supports the goal to show value to consumers. Therefore, retailers may find it difficult to move away from such practices without across-the-board legislation.

Ilana Santone: Over the past century, we have responded to customer needs and supported communities from coast to coast. However, we know that our country faces many pressing economic, social and environmental challenges that are critical to address to ensure a sustainable and prosperous future for all Canadians. Being part of the solution is not just a responsibility – it’s an imperative to ensure the long-term success of our business, and requires collaboration with partners, vendors, Canadian Tire Associate Dealers, and our customers. Last year, we published our inaugural ESG report, which outlined our ESG progress so far and journey ahead. One of our most significant sustainability milestones to date is helping to launch the Canada Plastics Pact to eliminate plastic waste. Through this, we are collaborating with our partners to drive progress against our 2025 targets by defining a list of our owned brand plastic packaging that is designated as problematic or unnecessary, and taking measures to eliminate those materials by 2025; designing 100% of our owned brand plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2025; and ensuring an average of 30% recycled content in our owned brand plastic packaging by 2025. From a digital perspective, specifically, we’re leveraging dedicated landing pages and identifiers, such as badges, to highlight sustainable brands and products, making it easier for customers to make sustainable choices. 

Stewart Schafer: Before the idea of environmental sustainability or ESG became popular, ever since Sleep Country has been delivering mattresses to customers, we’ve been picking up old beds and recycling them. We weren’t doing it because it was an ESG initiative. We did it because it was the socially responsible thing to do. We’ve also, for years now, been diverting any plastic that we use from landfills. Today, however, we have a team that drives all of our environmental initiatives. They set goals for the organization. And not pie-in-the-sky goals, real goals that are attainable and that will lend toward improving the impact of our day-to-day operations as well as helping to continue making these improvements well into the future.

RITM: Looking ahead to the next 1-3 years, what will be the biggest opportunity for retailers looking to capture the attention and spend of the omnichannel consumer? And, which technologies might be leveraged in order to help achieve this goal? 

Lesley Hawkins: Personalization is paramount today, but I see that drive only increasing in the coming years. I am certainly not well-versed in the latest technologies, and I know some of this already exists but is in its infancy. What would personalized fitting through AI both in-store and online look like? Imagine standing in front of a mirror in store and seeing what you would look like wearing different outfits – it would allow the product to be selected on screen, brought to the cash wrap and where a size/product was missing, would automatically order it to be delivered to your house later that day. It would create speed in the experience, while still being personalized to the consumer’s needs. This would not replace the service levels of the floor staff as not all generations would embrace the technology, but would engage the younger, more tech savvy consumer.

Samir Kulkarni: There are significant opportunities for retailers to capture the attention and spend of the omnichannel consumer. At Showcase, we believe the biggest opportunity lies in the seamless integration of physical and digital shopping experiences.

Last-Mile Delivery: We are proud of our national partnership with DoorDash, which enables us to offer same-day delivery from all of our stores from coast to coast. This service brings convenience to our customers and allows us to compete with online retailers on speed and accessibility. We believe that partnerships with last-mile delivery providers will be crucial in the future as consumers continue to demand quick and convenient delivery options.

Brick-and-Mortar Stores: Despite the growth of online shopping, brick-and-mortar stores remain the heart of retail. Even pure-play ecommerce retailers have opened physical stores to enhance brand engagement and provide a space for social connection. Technology that drives traffic to physical stores, and engages customers in store, will be valuable in capturing the attention of omnichannel consumers. This can include tools for personalized marketing, interactive in-store experiences, and efficient inventory management.

We are excited about the potential that these technologies have to enhance our operations and look forward to seeing what the future will bring.

Eric: As we strive to deliver on our promise of giving the customer what they want, when they want it, where they want it, in a unified and consistent way, I think that one of the challenges is inventory accuracy and a technology that we’re hoping to leverage over the coming years is RFID.  Not only can it help with inventory accuracy, allowing us to deliver far more consistently, but also delivers many operational efficiencies both in store and at DC level.

Ilana Santone: Personalization creates a significant opportunity to capture spend: the better we know our customers, the more tailored offers and experiences we can provide to them. When we launched Triangle Rewards in 2018, our goal was to give Canadians more choices to earn and redeem their Canadian Tire Money. In the years since we’ve been focused on optimizing both the program and the Triangle app by providing members with the ability to view their personalized offers in one central location. The app also allows for the management of loyalty accounts and credit cards from anywhere, so members can track credit card and loyalty transactions at the same time and view, activate, and even swap offers. Our goal is to continue offering a compelling and meaningful value proposition to achieve customer satisfaction and long-term loyalty.

We also continue to enhance how customers can shop with us by expanding our ship-to-home options, including through our partnership with Doordash. In 2022, we rolled out two-hour, same-day delivery across our SportChek network. The customer experience scores were extremely positive, and earlier this year, we launched an Express Same Day Delivery Pilot at 10 Canadian Tire Retail stores in Ottawa. The initial results have been very strong: average click-to-delivery time is just over two hours, and the program has an NPS score of 80. We are now expanding to the Ottawa Valley and plan to take this program national throughout the back half of the year.

Finally, leveraging technology to create the best experience for our customers is critical. As new technology continues to emerge, opportunities arise, such as leveraging AI to deliver personalized experiences and integrating shopping functionality into social media platforms and voice assistance and smart speakers. Augmented and virtual reality will also enable the integration of technology that allows customers to visualize products in their desired space before purchasing them, and creating virtual showrooms where customers can explore and experience products.

Stewart Schafer: I always try to see things through the eyes of the consumer. And when I do, I notice that the experience provided is the most important aspect within the retailer-consumer relationship. A big requirement of the experience today is convenience – getting things to the consumer quickly and seamlessly. Technology is helping to expedite this experience, particularly on the logistics side of the business, providing incredible engagement support, adding to the long-term value of those customers. And, as technologies that are supported by artificial intelligence continue to evolve and improve, smarter information will be provided to the customer to better inform their decisions. And retailers will have access to data that will enable a much deeper understanding of the people shopping with them, laying the foundation for a more procured and customized experience, ushering in the true age of retail personalization.

As we continue to move forward amid the current hyper-digitization of the world around us, the retail industry is changing, and with it the ways in which brands engage, interact with and service their customers. Technological advancements, both on the front and back ends of the operation are enabling brands to enhance the convenience they offer and find greater efficiencies. They are also providing retailers with the opportunity to capitalize on the true potential of their businesses, harnessing the very best of the physical and online worlds, reaching wider audiences while improving their environmental impact. And, through this unified approach to engagement, sales, fulfillment, and everything else in between, the industry is entering a new era of possibility and potential.