Over the last few years the retail industry has evolved rapidly, with advances in technology ensuring the marketplace is a very different thing to that of days gone by. The global domination of the internet has undoubtedly played a major role in this evolution. Online shopping now accounts for a substantial percentage of retail profits, with research revealing that consumers in the United Kingdom are due to spend in excess of 100 billion pounds online in 2014. The number of people who purchase goods on the internet has more than doubled over the past decade, with this figure no doubt boosted in recent times by the creation of smart technology. Because of smartphones and tablets, the internet can now be accessed anywhere at any time. This has led to the birth of the omni-channel retail marketplace.

Retail Revolution

Whether you decide to call it omni-channel retailing or multi-channel, this revolution is here to stay and will continue to evolve rapidly as technology, and the way we access it, continues to move forward. To fully embrace omni-channel retailing, multi-site retail organisations need to do more than just offer their services on all available platforms, such as online and in the traditional shopping arena of the high street. Those services need to seamlessly blend together, offering consumers the same experience whether they decide to make their purchases in a bricks-and-mortar store or via the internet.

When the phenomenon of online shopping first began to seriously take hold, it was seen by many industry observers as being the death of traditional high street stores. Many multi-site retailers began to concentrate their efforts on creating the ultimate online shopping experience for their customers, believing that high street retail would struggle to keep pace. However, despite online spending rocketing to unseen levels, the high street arena has remained steadfast in its refusal to give way to its younger, more advanced counterpart. The rise of the phenomenon known as Webrooming, whereby customers browse products online before making the final purchase in a bricks-and-mortar store, has seen people flock back to the high street. No matter how slick online shopping may be, it can never match the standards of personal customer service to be found in a high street store.

Enhancing Customer Experience

This return to traditional methods of shopping has come at a price for retailers. In return for their patronage of high street stores, consumers now expect their shopping experience to match that found in the online arena. There has never been a more critical time for retailers to ensure they enhance customer experience by implementing dynamic browsing options and providing displays which have been optimised to take advantage of current buying trends. Any retail installation undertaken not only needs to be planned and executed properly, but should also respond to the fast, ever-changing requirements of the marketplace. This is where estate intelligence and the InSite system becomes such a crucial part of the overall process, capturing specific details of individual stores across an estate and putting the retailer in full control of costs and deadlines.

Perhaps the most noticeable change in the retail marketplace that has occurred since the advent of omni-channel shopping is the furious speed with which the industry operates. Retailers need to respond to market trends quickly or face being left behind in the race for customers. The intelligence provided by such physical store analytics can put retailers in a much stronger position to respond to the new and exciting challenges that omni-channel retailing brings.