Following a few years of significant changes to the retail landscape, it appears that in 2023, consumers will physically step back into retail environments with a level of enthusiasm we haven’t seen in some time. Just as customers and their expectations are ever-evolving, staying current and ensuring your business is changing and growing with the times has never been more important. We touch on a few of the continuing and new trends unfolding this year:
During the pandemic, we witnessed the exponential rise of, and necessity for, online shopping. We loved our endless online browsing, price comparisons and the joy of not leaving the couch to have our retail itch scratched. At that time many assumed that the evolution of online shopping and moving away from physical retail locations was solidified. As we eased into 2022, and the world began to open up again, we saw consumers overjoyed to walk through the doors of their favourite brick-and-mortar location. Cut to 2023: notice trending toward major retailers and brands continuing to invest in physical store locations. Expect to see more consumers walking into stores to make their purchases, after doing their research online. From digital to physical location, both will be part of the customer’s buying journeys.
Omnichannel marketing strategy continues to be an absolute necessity, in fact vital, as consumers are using a combination of platforms on numerous devices to assist with their product research. Engagement by businesses requires a strategy that includes both digital and physical channels, from in-store to blanketing digital through social media, SMS and online. Ensuring brand consistency across all platforms is a must to keep the consumer interested and to highlight your multi-channel marketing strategy.
While the pandemic hastened our omnichannel purchasing power with order fulfillment facilitated by retail store locations and warehouses alike, those businesses who embraced this opportunity were the ones who garnered the most revenue. If you’re selling online and in-store, you must ensure that your physical locations support each way your customers want to shop. It’s essential to have an engaging sales floor that facilitates the offline shopping experience. At the same time, you must be optimized for online order fulfillment including in-store pickup, shipping and local delivery. Businesses also had to deal with incredibly frustrating challenges as their standard inventory strategy was no longer applicable and needed to be augmented to continue to supply as their customer-base had become accustomed to. To assist staff with picking and restocking inventory, while ensuring location accuracy of products is Danavation Technologies’, Stock2Lite and Pick2Lite platforms. Geared at improving in-store efficiencies and overall improved experiences, these platforms are a game-changer for business owners, and their staff, and can stream-line and vastly improve accuracy and decrease labour costs when it comes to fulfilling online orders or restocking shelves.
More in-store traffic means the challenge of labour shortages and staffing physical locations with trained, consistent employees which we continue to read is one of the largest challenges facing business owners today. According to Shopify, 39% of retailers say they’re investing in improving the tools and technologies employees use to do their day-to-day work. Digital Smart Label™ systems are an ideal fit for retail locations. As a result of this technology, stores can manage inventory while increasing operational efficiency, reducing paper and saving time updating pricing and product information. A necessity when staffing locations effectively is challenging. Adopting this technology is the first step to digital transformation and an ideal solution to increased in-store efficiencies.
The increase and call for greater sustainability and corporate social responsibility will continue to be a larger part of the conversation in 2023, and it is anticipated that retailers will improve their sustainability and corporate social responsibilities and implement green business initiatives – both of which Danavation Technologies is very familiar with. Modern shoppers want to align with brands that share their values, and are likely to support companies who prioritize social responsibility. When clients choose to automate their outdated paper labelling systems, not only does that significantly reduce the amount of paper used in one single store, but it also has a snowball effect. Our company partnered up with One Tree Planted to collaborate with tree planting in areas severely affected by deforestation. For more information on our social commitment, please visit danavation.com/esg/.
As we move through 2023, stay nimble, remain focussed on providing the best consumer experience possible and above all, continue to propel your business to the next level.
