The Future Of Retail Is Closer Than You Think

Eighty-six Per Cent Of Retailers Are Experimenting With New Technologies To Strengthen Consumer Relationships And Forge New Paths To Growth

- Vish Ganapathy, Al Sambar And Theo Forbath

Consumers have more choices and access to information than ever before. They also have access to more channels through which to broadcast their demands — and their frustrations with retailers that disappoint. Retailers have grown more powerful, as well. They have embraced digital to optimise operations, understand and segment consumers, and create convenient, satisfying multi-channel experiences.

To be sure, digital has ushered in a period of monumental change to the industry. But this change, it turns out, is just a precursor of what’s to come. Accenture’s 2019 Technology Vision research has revealed a new set of trends that are poised to accelerate retail’s evolution.

More than three-quarters (76 per cent) of retail industry executives claim that social, mobile, analytics and cloud capabilities are now core components of their enterprise IT strategies. Further, 93 per cent credit these technologies for accelerating their pace of innovation over the past three years. But these digital capabilities and the advantages they afford are now available to every retailer. They are no longer differentiating. Our research suggests that we are entering a new era where distributed ledger, AI, extended reality and quantum computing (or DARQ) technologies will be the next catalysts for change. For retailers, AI and extended reality solutions are the most mature. The potential of distributed ledgers and quantum computing will reveal itself in the coming years. Eighty-six per cent of retail companies are already experimenting with DARQ technologies.

Relevance, persistent personalisation, and a commitment to a purpose that aligns with the values of consumers are the winning combination. New technologies bring these concepts to life like never before. These “post-digital” technologies aren’t emerging in isolation. They are accompanied by (and, in many cases, driving) post-digital consumer expectations and behaviours.