Why it is time for Indian Retailers to think Digital

Posted by Satin Neo Dimensions on September 19th, 2019

The critical success factors of retail can be a thesis topic by itself. There is the customer at the core of retail, there are the four P’s and the subsequent P’s that have been added by researchers, there are hypotheses like retail is detail, there is the drive to go the extra mile for the customer, there is the stress of location perfection, and then there is more. But let us sidestep all these complexities for a moment and wear our ‘zero-based thinking’ hat. And then examine the very basic necessities for an offline retail exercise to be successful.

Combining the Physical with Digital

Traditional brick and mortar retail still drive more than 90% of India’s total retail business. There are different estimates about how much impact it has on online retail. But it is definitely some finite number. So, there is a pressing need today to impress in-store customers, convert them as shoppers then and there or at least impress them enough to hook them to the brand.

One way to do this is to utilize the display surfaces across the store and convert them into attractive and interactive screens to engage visiting customers and enhance sales. Besides quickly grabbing customer eyeballs, digital in-store signage can boost the average basket size, influence consumer behavior, do precision marketing, save costs and drive appropriate analytics.

Miscellaneous conveniences can be offered to shoppers by giving them an easy checkout experience by deploying a host of sensors, cameras, smart shelves within an AI-based system where the store takes the payment from a customer’s app.

Physical retail needs to strike a delicate balance between inventory availability, speed of movement of the inventory, visibility of the inventory, cost of carrying the inventory and storage of the inventory, along with the responsiveness of the supply chain. Inventory analytics can be leveraged to speed up the cash cycle and management of shelves can be introduced to drive modularity and enhance space utilization.

A store can also personalize offers for selected customers by recognizing them and serving them according to their preferences. Stores can roll out interactive customer displays to push relevant promotions. They can use interactive screens to attract customers and influence their behavior. Similarly, smart price checkers can help stores upsell their products and drive customer loyalty. Smart shelf displays can enable stores to advertise and push their products and LED window displays can enhance the emotional brand value.

How does SND help in achieving these factors?

So retail is where the customer is. Where there is customer, we have to market products there, acquire customers there and start a relationship with them. This is the prime goal of retail. And SND understands that very well. We as a company are focusing on the various avenues of Omni retail, driving digital intelligence in physical stores, enhancing the user experience within the stores through product signage and interactive screens, augmenting various personalization efforts, and driving customer acquisition through AI-based conversion techniques.

Satin Neo Dimensions (SND) is a leading design & innovation-driven firm in the retail space. It has been a frontrunner in adopting technology since they ventured into the Retail fit-outs space in 2010-11. SND is at the threshold of ushering brands into the future of retail fit-outs by bringing pathbreaking in-store technologies. SND is also a pioneer and partner of choice for civic bodies and transport authorities in the space of Way Finding solutions for public areas. To know more write to us at – contact@satinneodimensions