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Retail is forever being reshaped by tech. In this high-stakes competitive market, it is not just enough to follow trends. Be a challenger fluent in digital innovations.
Innovation Is a Constant. Digitalization Is the Key
First, e-commerce. Then a flurry of web and mobile applications. Newer business models. The shape-shifting in retail is constant and profound. Customer experience is the new battleground, the main avenue for innovation and differentiation. Yet, the pandemic proved how vulnerable retail is and how it has a long way to go to be able to absorb shocks.
Whether it is to close the gap with competitors or build up resilience, digital transformation is central to future-proofing retail enterprises. For over a decade, QBurst has been supporting retail businesses, large and small, to hone their digital capabilities, push the boundaries of innovation, and beef up their performance.
What We Offer
Digital Supply Chain Capabilities
Automated real-time tracking, master data management, and product information management
Custom e-Commerce Platforms
Fast loading, fully scalable, high-converting, global e-commerce platforms.
Engaging Mobile Applications
Futuristic apps that leverage gamification, AR, and IoT for anywhere, anytime immersive experience
In-Store Retail Experience
Self-service kiosks, video walls, and virtual assistants that elevate in-store experience
Retail Queue Management
Virtual queuing, appointment booking, and contactless shopping solutions.
Data Engineering Services
From processing high-volume customer, product, and transaction data to real-time retail analytics
DevOps Services
Scalable application deployment and continuous integration support
Machine Learning Capabilities
Demand forecasting, trend analysis, predictive analytics, computer vision, and natural language processing
Cognitive Chatbots
Development of intelligent chatbots for personalized 24x7 customer service
Digital Marketing Services
Web and social media analytics, paid and organic campaigns, content marketing, and marketing automation.
Digital Supply Chain Capabilities
Automated real-time tracking, master data management, and product information management
Custom e-Commerce Platforms
Fast loading, fully scalable, high-converting, global e-commerce platforms.
Engaging Mobile Applications
Futuristic apps that leverage gamification, AR, and IoT for anywhere, anytime immersive experience
In-Store Retail Experience
Self-service kiosks, video walls, and virtual assistants that elevate in-store experience
Retail Queue Management
Virtual queuing, appointment booking, and contactless shopping solutions.
Data Engineering Services
From processing high-volume customer, product, and transaction data to real-time retail analytics
DevOps Services
Scalable application deployment and continuous integration support
Machine Learning Capabilities
Demand forecasting, trend analysis, predictive analytics, computer vision, and natural language processing
Cognitive Chatbots
Development of intelligent chatbots for personalized 24x7 customer service
Digital Marketing Services
Web and social media analytics, paid and organic campaigns, content marketing, and marketing automation.
Areas of Transformation in Retail
Digital Supply Chains
With geopolitical uncertainties on the one hand and poor visibility into multi-tier supplier networks on the other, traditional supply chains are doomed to fail. An integrated digital network is the solution as it gives all stakeholders visibility into supply chain operations in real time.
Digital supply chains enabled by IoT networks, GPS, RFID, and BLE allow shipment tracking in real time. Bottlenecks can be identified and resolved before they impact lead time or delivery. Demand forecasting and trend analysis further help retailers to prepare for demand fluctuations, minimizing the risk of excess inventory or stockouts.
Product information management is another supply chain process that can be systematized on an integrated digital network. The true strength of digital supply chains is that they can be fully or partly automated subject to business rules, saving vast amounts of money and manual labor.
Omnichannel Experience
Web browsers, websites, e-commerce sites, native apps, social media, physical stores—some or all of these touchpoints figure in a buyer’s journey. Given this reality, retailers must adopt an omnichannel strategy that makes shopping consistent and satisfying on every channel.
Omnichannel experience combined with personalization is known to boost satisfaction, loyalty, and sales conversion. It works in many ways: through micro-segmentation of customers and targeted promotions; special offers for loyal customers; personalized recommendations; and creation of personalized customer journeys.
The insights for omnichannel marketing and personalization are obtained by integrating customer data from all the touchpoints. Campaigns are orchestrated at scale using marketing automation to engage each customer based on their interests and intent at each stage of their shopping journey.
In-Store Experience
No brick-and-mortar store can put off having a digital storefront; the pandemic has made that amply clear. Contactless shopping facilitated by image processing and IoT will be a core strategy for revival, the bellwethers of which can be found in Amazon’s grab-and-go and palm-scanning payment systems. Click-and-collect, pickup scheduling, and queue management are other viable models for safe shopping.
Technologies like AR and VR are redefining the concept of “experience shopping,” which has always been brick-and-mortar retailers’ biggest draw. Interactive walls, installations, and augmented mirrors can jazz up store ambiance and inspire interactions with products. Virtual fitting rooms can assist customers find the perfect fit and customize products as they wish.
Analyzing shopping behaviors using video analytics, retailers can find out how effective their displays and promotions are. From heatmaps, they can identify the dead zones in the store and from dwell times and facial analysis, the products that interest customers more. Using these insights, they can optimize store layout, shelving, and staff scheduling.
Retail Mobility
With mobile phones contributing to one-third of online shopping, a mobile-first development approach is the right step to take. But as technology advances, mobile app development and enterprise mobility will have to keep pace with those changes. For instance, Progressive Web Apps that proactively connect with customers and raise conversion are the new rage.
In the broad canvas of experience shopping, mobility has a salient place, with AR and gamification apps making new types of product interactions possible. Scan-to-shop users can access product information just by scanning QR codes. Location-based services such as in-store navigation and proximity marketing exemplify the extended scope of retail mobility.
Voice recognition, natural language processing, and voice synthesis have opened a new chapter in mobile user experience. The quality of voice-enabled shopping will depend on the content and conversational intelligence of the systems. Customer service, telecalling, and virtual assistants will also leverage human-like voice synthesis systems.
Agile and Scalable Platforms
Cloud enables every retailer to be part of the e-commerce revolution by going online quicker with minimum investment. From application server and database to data analytics, cloud provides all the infrastructure required to kick-start an e-commerce enterprise. With custom-built e-commerce applications, retailers can have greater control of their digital enterprise.
Site performance is a crucial metric in e-commerce as even a single second’s delay can drastically reduce conversion. This translates to millions of dollars of lost revenue during a flash sale or a surge in demand. Dynamic provisioning of the cloud is the only way to scale at low cost. And this makes cloud migration a necessary choice.
Time-to-market is another critical factor in fast-paced retail. An able DevOps team can ensure continuous and efficient delivery of new features, keeping retail applications up to date and bug-free. Careful execution is required to reap the rewards of cloud without compromising security or becoming a cost liability.
Build Traction with Digital Marketing
Creating brand awareness and winning traction takes time, but with a solid digital marketing strategy and the right marketing interventions, it can be done effectively. From conducting website health checks to planning highly targeted campaigns on search engines and social media, coordinated digital marketing can help retail enterprises boost conversion and get more bang for their marketing buck. Utilizing marketing platforms like Adobe Campaign, automated campaigns can be triggered to engage and nurture customers from the point of onboarding through various stages of conversion.
