10 CHALLENGES OF 2020 IN RETAIL INDUSTRY

by Kushal Verma Search Engine Marketing

2020 has brought nothing but catastrophic effects on businesses all around the globe. The retail industry has been the prime target of this pandemic. The physical retail sector has been taking all the rage of Coronavirus globally. The past few months have been very uncertain and complex for the retail market.

In the wake of Coronavirus, some retail sectors have flourished like e-commerce whereas some are facing new challenges and are on the verge of extinction. The wrath of this pandemic is mostly on the physical retail stores because of the worldwide lockdown. Even when people enjoy buying goods and services from malls and stores especially the elderly, they all are forced to stay at home and deal with the e-commerce website and new modern technology to buy daily essentials.

Though the retail industry has been evolving since the last decade and consumers are benefiting from these multi-channel services. Still, they are not that effective and preferable in certain retail sectors such as spa and beauty salon services. Consumers explore e-commerce sites just to know about the varieties and features of products and under their budget and go to specific stores to purchase the product after physical inspection especially in the case of electronics.

Several retail traders are covered in knee-deep debts and some companies and banks have declared bankruptcy. The challenges faced by the retail sector today are unexpected but this is an eye-opening scenario for the constant improvement and introduction of new methods of shopping. To overcome these challenges with new and effective modern technologies first, we need to identify the obstacles.

10 Main Challenges Faced by Retail Industry

We have listed out the 10 main challenges the retail sector is facing worldwide in this pandemic:

• In-Store Experience

Earlier consumers liked to buy the goods and services directly from their favorite brands and malls. Consumers used to like physical shopping experience where they can touch and feel the products they are spending money on. They also used to enjoy the attention and services they used to get from the retail workers. Every customer like enjoying the good shopping experience which brings the customers back to the store.

In the COVID-19 situation, everybody has to follow the health safety guidelines issued by WHO. It has made the In-store shopping experience more difficult. Customers have to stand in the long queues for hours just to purchase their daily essentials while following social distancing protocols. The whole in-store shopping experience has become exhausted and thus people are preferring online stores even when they are not happy dealing with mobile technologies.

• Consumers Are Leaning Towards Multichannel Buying Experience

The behavior of the consumer is changing rapidly mainly because of the larger options and growth of the e-commerce sector. A large population of customers has modern technology in their hands. Customers have many options available at their fingertips before making any decision. Online shopping has both advantages and disadvantages, though consumers have a huge variety available under different budgets.

Vast choices have also customers confused and there is no brand loyalty left. Therefore, you should see it as an opportunity to enter into an online retail platform to promote their products and maintain a customer base. Though millions of customers are purchasing from online stores using retail billing software. Customers still prefer to buy things in person at physical retail stores.

• Maintaining Brand Loyalty

Maintaining your customer base has become much more challenging because of the multi-channel experience. Today, customers have so many options available under their budget. In online shopping, it is very hard to maintain brand loyalty. Earlier consumers used to have the brands selected to fulfill their different needs.

In today's world, it is one of the major reasons for the failure of e-commerce websites. It is considered to be a foolish mistake to make a sale without trying to attract repeat business from the consumers.

• Make the Shopping Experience Delightful

In today's pandemic situation, it is becoming a difficult task for retailers to maintain the whole shopping experience pleasant. People like exploring the online market but are not sure of the product. While at the physical retail store, consumers are facing long queues and spending much time. Retailers need to introduce a retail billing system for fast services at physical shopping stores. On the other hand they can enter into the online market so that people have a trusted brand where they don't get confused with many options and have the product guarantee.

• Distasteful and Expensive Marketing Strategies

As the digital world is evolving so are modern marketing strategies. To grab the customer's attention retail sector is introducing several marketing techniques such as email, SMS system, traditional paid ads, and social media marketing strategy. Though such strategies help to promote the brand and reach a large consumer base.

They are also very exhausting and time consuming for customers. Constant messages and alerts make the customer uncomfortable and they start to dislike the brand and look for other options even when they like the product. Customers are more attracted to the marketing strategy that develops a more personal relationship.

• Re-Inventing Retail Store

In this situation, retail stores need to reinvent their customer handling strategies. A retail store needs to reinvent their payment and billing methods. They need to introduce new retail software and delivery services so that customer stays loyal to you.

The retail market needs to invest more in its customer service and implement strategies that are helpful in this scenario such as contactless shopping and minimizing indoor time.

• Data Management Challenge in Retail Industry

Physical retail trade has been on a bumpy road since lockdown. Offline stores were forced to close and when they reopen with restrictions and there are chances, they can close again. Retailers need to open gates to their online stores as well to maintain the continuity and growth of their business.

Retailers need to manage their data on the cloud for both online and offline shopping so the customer feels valued and can be treated as a regular customer. It can help to gain more credibility among consumers and they will be loyal to your brand only.

• Sustainability of Retail Sector

While introducing all these modern technologies to make shopping easier for customers.

Retailers need to always make sure that they are also introducing new trends, especially in the fashion industry.

Sustainability is a positive challenge in the retail industry. Retailers need to understand the importance of new trends otherwise customers will look for other multi-channels.

• Introducing Technology Solutions

The high demand for e-commerce sectors and an increase in mobile technology or self-service will create a demand for safe transactions and privacy policies. The introduction of retail store software and retail billing system can improve the faith of customers and will give them a sense of security while making a purchase.

• Importance of Supply Chain and Customer Service

Now this aspect is important on both platforms whether a consumer prefers online shopping or offline shopping from local stores and shops. There should be transparency between the retailers and consumers about their goods and services. Even in online shopping, it is mandatory to provide customer service so you can expect the customer to do business with you again.

Thus, every retailer must overcome this challenge by providing more customer service and supply chain to meet the demand. This way you can stand out among your competitors and your consumers will stay loyal to you.