The Future Of Retail

Retail is the process of selling goods or services to a consumer. Retail sales can be made directly to customers or via retail outlets. Recently, retail innovation has accelerated to a level never witnessed before. Due to the epidemic, retailers have developed a greater capacity for adaptability, creativity, and innovation.

To understand the future of Retail, in this episode of "The Future Of" Jeff is joined by Gautham Vadakkepatt, an Associate Professor, a Dean's Scholar, and the Director of the Center for Retail Transformation at George Mason University, with additional insights from Sucharita Kodali, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research.

They cover:

[00:02:37] Fundamentally, "retail is the process of selling goods or services to a consumer." Retail could be selling directly to consumers or through retail stores
[00:03:00] A few common things, whether selling directly to consumers or retail stores, are common. They are:
- Merchandising: This has to do with commercializing your product or service
- Labor: This has to do with your store associates and teams as well as the customer service component
- Marketing: has to do with how you get people to your offline or online store, how you get them to stay as a customer, their post-purchase experience, and more
- Supply chain: This has to do with how you move products from the manufacturer to the consumer and when and where they want them
[00:04:42] Direct to Customer (DTC) retail was first introduced in the industry's early days, when items were sold at retail stores
[00:06:50] The pace of retail innovation has recently increased at a never-before-seen rate. Since the pandemic, retailers have become much more adaptable, inventive, and capable of meeting the ever-changing needs of their customers
[00:09:14] The desire for convenience has skyrocketed and made the buy online pick-up stores a play on comfort
[00:10:30] Retailers are fully aware of the environmental sustainability footprint and are making conscious efforts to address it. Remarkably, they view these more as opportunities rather than concerns.
[00:11:25] Retailers' biggest problem is eliminating friction and creating memorable customer experiences.
[00:11:50] Examples of friction points retailers are facing are:
- Going through a physical store, the amount of time you spent at checkout
- Stock outs
- Returns on products
- Product discovery
- Customer support
[00:13:53] "Only about 14% of all commerce in the US is still online". Most of it is in-store, but the important thing is that there's synergy between online and offline.
[00:21:57] "AI is the glue that holds the future of retail together because it allows you to effectively function and scale to whatever level of ambition"
[00:31:57] Retail is the largest private sector employer in the US. This will not change soon.

Full transcript: https://www.freshconsulting.com/insights/podcasts/the-future-of-retail/

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And connect with Gautham Vadakkepatt and Sucharita Kodali here:

Gautham:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gautham-vadakkepatt-b1a1974/

Website: https://gauthamvadakkepatt.com/

Sucharita:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sucharitamulpuru

Website: http://www.forrester.com

About the Show

“The Future Of” is a podcast by Fresh Consulting & hosted by Jeff Dance, where we discuss and learn about the future of different industries, markets, and technology verticals. Together we’ll chat with leaders and experts in the field and discuss how we can shape the future human experience.