Retailing. Technology Set to Reshape the Future of Retail Sector

Technology Set to Reshape the Future of Retail Sector
Author’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Technology Set to Reshape the Future of Retail Sector
1.0. Role of Technology with Regard to the Future Direction of Retailing as an Industry
Technology has played an important role in the reshaping of the retail industry over a period of time. Continuous tech advancement accompanied by rapid adoption holds indications that technology will continue to dominate the sector (Stephens, 2017). Impact of technology on two crucial aspects of the retail sector including retail operations and the customer shopping experience is elaborated as follows:
1.1. Effects of Technology on Retail Operations
While talking about retail operations, it is important to refer to the growing influence of 'automation'. Automated solutions are becoming increasingly available and robust. These solutions offer a wide range of vendor management services from human resource management to supply chain management (Stephens, 2017). As the adoption of these solutions increases in years to come, it will have a significant impact on the efficiency of operation management. Since automation refers to the delegation of responsibility to machines, it makes people redundant and thereby eliminates the expenses attributable to those people, such as salaries, training, and costs relating to recruitment (Basker, 2016). Similarly, a tech-based solution also results in increased efficiency by removing the costs that organizations may have to suffer due to human errors (Basker, 2016). Since retail organizations have multiple activities that involve repetition, they can enjoy the excellent reduction in their operational expenses through digitalization and automation.
It is also important to consider the emerging trends of IoT. According to recent estimates, the value of IoT in the retail sector is projected to grow above $94 billion by 2025 (Digiteum, 2019). These estimates are significant while seen in the backdrop of the benefits that IoT offers for supply chain management. By adopting IoT based solutions, the retailers will be able to better manage their response to the market needs. Latest technologies such as RFID will allow them to create a link among different checkpoints within their supply chain allowing them to learn the status of point in real-time (Caro & Sadr, 2019). For instance, the vendors will be able to learn about the demand trends from the data gathered from the sellers' end and will use the same to adjust their future orders. This will save them from both extremes including stock-outs and over-inventory. Similarly, it will also reduce the cost of inventory as the retailers will be able to adjust and readjust their decisions in real-time.
1.2. Effects of Technology on Potential Customer Shopping Experience
0175260000Technology has a vital interaction with the consumer shopping experience in the retail sector. New technologies are allowing retailers to increase the convenience and delight of shopping. For instance, trends of E-commerce are on the rise. The share of online shopping in the total volume of retail purchases has already grown to 14% and is projected to grow up to 22% by 2025 (Statistia, 2019). These findings are also illustrated through the diagram as below:
Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 1: Ecommerce Share of Total Global Retail Sales (Statistia, 2019)
These trends show that Ecommerce will continue to eat into the share of traditional shopping value and may emerge as the most preferred mode of shopping in 10 to 15 years ahead. If these findings are extrapolated to the future considering the same rate of growth, the share of e-commerce sales may grow up to 50% by the end of 2035. This will require the retailers to focus increasingly on improving the quality and usability of their online platforms as they will serve as the major sources of competitive advantage for them in the long run.
Furthermore, augmented virtual reality is set to take the shopping experience to the next level. By the time of writing this, virtual reality has evolved enough to allow the consumers to virtually examine their products. They can visualize products in 3D display mode (Stephens, 2017; Management Association; Information Resources, 2018). This factor is continuously removing a barrier that has been hampering the growth of e-retail in past i.e. inability to try the products. By 2035, as the sensory technologies further improve and get integrated into virtual reality, they may facilitate the consumers to have feelings of physical interaction while examining the products. This will further blur the line between reality and virtual reality adding significantly to consumer convenience.
Face recognition technology is also ready to further revolutionize the consumers shopping experience. Currently, legal aspects of using face-detection devices at retail stores are under review. The arrival of this technology and its evolution by 2035 will significantly add to the pleasure of shopping and will allow the retailers to connect better to each customer by providing the sense of personalized attention (Marr, 2019). For example, as the technology recognizes the face of the consumers, the staff will be able to assist the consumer in line with the needs specific to each identified through their profiles to which their face is the gateway.
2.0. Examples of Organizations
There are several organizations with high raised visions for tech adoption in future. For example, Walmart's Al-Powered Store is already in the process of the pilot test. The store uses senses to inform the staff when an item is removed from the shelf or is expired and thereby needs to be replenished or replaced (Perez, 2019). This idea will benefit in terms of consumer relation as it ensures timely availability of fresh products. At the same time, it will also be aimed at improving operational efficiency due t...