The sudden change from last year till this moment has been an unprepared revolution for every business including the retail sector. And the probability that your business will survive now and in the future depends on how you can quickly adapt and flow with the new trend in technology.
Globally retailing is facing severe changes which can be partly explained by the events related to the pandemic (stay-at-home orders, social distancing). And the effect has been seen through the closure of business that has been going on recently.
In fact, a recent report on Retail insider shows that Disney’s stores are closing globally in Canada, Europe as well as in major US markets. This shows the need for a new change in the retail landscape.
Internet of things (IoT) is a network of internet-connected devices that are able to collect and exchange data across a network. IoT is increasingly considered as an enabler of business competitive advantage in addition to its contribution to satisfying customers‘ demand for innovative and qualitative products and services. So it becomes a great deal for every retail leader to understand the importance of IoT in their organizations and how to make use of the best of it.
The global IoT in the retail market was valued at USD 35.63 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach USD 67.60 billion by 2026 witnessing a CAGR of 11.3% over the forecast period (2021 – 2026). The retail industry has witnessed a significant impact from IoT, in terms of boosting profitability and efficient supply chain operation.
IoT will not just be the future of the retail industry but also bring a shift in the retail market by optimizing supply chain management, reducing inventory error, and decreasing labor costs.
It is time retailers shift focus from developing new products to developing new tools to improve services.
1. IoT could reduce the problem of labor shortage
One of the recent problems facing retailers is having fewer workers to work, while we’re hiring signs are now becoming more popular. A study shows that close to 40% of Canadian small and medium-sized businesses are already having difficulty hiring new employees and the situation is getting worse. As the population ages and baby boomers retire, growth in Canada’s labor force is forecast to fall to near zero.
Also, a recent survey suggested that restaurant operators are now providing more incentives to their new employees. A total of 40% are offering extra paid vacation, 37% hope to persuade new hires with better job titles, while more than a third are offering signing bonuses, sometimes over $1,000.
IoT could provide smart stores in terms of staff-free and cashier-less stores especially during this era of a global pandemic. In Fact, a survey on Bloomberg shows that 87 percent of shoppers prefer to shop with touchless or robust self-checkout options due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the help of IoT, retailers could introduce the use of robot employees that can easily check the store, identify misplaced items or detect goods that are out of stock on the shelves. They can also help customers to find specific products and provide information on promotions and inventory.
This will be an opportunity to overcome consumers’ fear, reduce labor shortage and unlock operational efficiency.
2. Food safety and monitoring can be increased
Do you know that perishable food spoilage and deterioration in the retail grocery industry results in a significant loss of profitability, with groceries on average losing $70 million annually to spoilage alone? Around 35.5 million tonnes of food goes to waste across Canada’s supply chain each year according to a recent Second Harvest report.
IoT technology could be used to monitor the temperature of storage space which can result in a reduction in food sp[oilage. This can actually be achieved with a simple device installed in the storage unit and linked to a device (computer) to send alerts on abnormal temperatures of the stored items. This could be a game-changer in protecting perishable goods, ensuring optimal freshness, and reducing waste.
3. Improved supply chain and logistics
IoT will be an effective way to track and monitor products and shipments using GPS and other technology. Sensors will be used by retailers to monitor goods throughout the entire supply chain.
The IoT tracking solution will help to determine fast delivery and be transported in ideal conditions, this can help retailers make their transport logistics more efficient, reduce product damage and avoid loss, says Daniel MO; Digital expert and founder of NNON Movement. Making sure that the IoT achieves greater visibility in supply chain operations, detailed and real-time inventory management, and optimizing product selections based on customer preferences are the primary objectives of sensor-based technologies, big data, the cloud, and analytics.
IoT is already providing value to businesses, retail leaders and business owners should incorporate more use of the IoT solutions to experience more improved business operation and ensure customers satisfaction.
4. Improved customers experience
Fulfilling consumers’ desires goes a long way in the success of any business parasite. The retail industry can also use IoT to collate data and develop shopping profiles for certain types of customers, machine learning can adapt to each user to guide their shopping experience.
The data collected can be used to bring out a new product that will drive more interest in your customers. Just like a company producing several things you can figure out what part of your product needs special improvement and pass the information to your product development team.
With the data collated through the help of IoT, your product development team can figure out what exactly should be done to improve the existing product. There are a lot of reputable software development providers that could build new software solutions to tackle your company’s existing problems and give your customers a good reason to choose you any time any day.
However, this will ensure that the customers always have the best possible updated configurations of the product.
