Recent TRG blog posts

Though consumer talk of the impending Internet of Things revolution is still primarily on the buzz, a handful of progressive retailers are converting talk into action and laying the groundwork for connectivity in their operations and products. One such pioneers is the luxury luggage manufacturer and retailer, Rimowa.

For forward-looking retailers, the path of becoming an omnichannel business has just begun, with many more changes and investments are to be made. The leaders of the retail industry have already set the bar for high-quality services and true omnichannel experiences. For example, the scan-and-go store concept from Amazon has broken the norm of brick-and-mortar retailing and given new meaning to the omnichannel retail experiences. 

In a recent survey jointly conducted by JDA Software and KPMG¹, in which key innovation investments across retail, manufacturing, and logistics are laid out, supply chain visibility and traceability dominated with 77% and have been crowned for 2 consecutive years, followed by others. And to a marked extent, those are all driven by the latest technological breakthroughs such as inter alia, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, cognitive analytics, and blockchain.  

Target, Ikea, Whole Foods, Sephora, and a couple of other popular retailers in the US recently have been following the same trend - the "mini-me" trend.

As retailers are bracing themselves for a future where omnichannel is the norm, retail management software has to evolve as well. With more than 25 years specializing in providing solutions to retail chains. Let's have an overview of RetailPro Prism, a next-gen POS system. 

Today’s customers expect great service, excellent selection, and competitive pricing. And they not only do not care whether that’s online or at a physical location — but they also expect to be able to “mix it up” a bit. Customers have come to expect that if they order an item online, they can return it in the store, for example. 

Retailers want to embrace the omnichannel methodology but they realise they can’t be all things to all customers. While it is true that today’s shoppers, and in particular Millennials, want to purchase goods and services through different channels, many retailers are still struggling to adapt to the latest iteration of retail reality in which shopping takes place 24/7, and may start in one channel and finish in another.

For years, retailers have looked for ways to influence shopper behaviour, from the early days of paper punch cards to sophisticated big CRM and ERP systems. Since then, loyalty programs have evolved from basic check-in solutions to more sophisticated check-in solutions that were able to communicate with shoppers via mobile app, text or SMS messages, and email. 

Traditional retailing seems no longer relevant to the current overview of the industry. Customers nowadays either do their shopping entirely online or buy the items online and pick them up in store. This means it’s time for the sellers to reinvent their supply chain management as well as the inventory fulfilment process.

Operational cost cutting has always been a retailers’ favourite tool to boost their bottom line. It is even more crucial for Walmart as the giant’s key competitive edge is price. And Walmart has found that substantial cost savings can come from seemingly small actions.