IDC and Open Text presented the results of their study “The challenge of omniexperience and customer intelligence in the digitalization of retail in the future”, which analyzes the state of this sector and the challenges it faces in its digital transformation process.
The union of both concepts covers multiple dimensions that allow companies to improve the customer experience in relation to the products and services offered. The use of technological solutions allows a 360º perspective of the customer experience and also facilitates the analysis of all possible approaches to their interactions with the company and products. This provides precise knowledge to predict aspects such as demand or user behavior, very important points for knowing where to reinforce business strategies, where to invest and what to abandon.
The challenges and opportunities that emerge from the study are as follows:
- Internet of Things: IDC predicts that by 2023, 50% of retailers will have implemented IoT in at least four digital transformation use cases. More than 50% of companies prioritize product tracking, final delivery optimization, smart replenishment, and improving the in-store customer experience when implementing IoT within the organization’s supply chain, thereby focusing on the customer and process efficiency.
- Customer experience: The report reveals that 48.5% of companies highlight the importance of measuring and improving customer loyalty in order to attract and retain customers. However, only 16.8% have implemented an omnichannel platform in their organisation, even though half of companies are still thinking about its implementation.
- Migration to the cloud: its adoption will be a fundamental requirement for digitalisation. Organisations are increasingly aware of the need to migrate to the cloud, even more so if it relates to the customer and thus be able to improve their experience, as emphasised by 27.7% of respondents.
- People management: Most companies believe that the new way of managing people in the digital age is important. By 2021, 60% of large global companies will have adopted the workplace of the future: a flexible, intelligent position in a virtual and physical collaborative environment, which improves employee experience and productivity.
- Data privacy and security: More than half of companies (55.4%) say they are implementing improvements in data security and privacy.
In conclusion, the key for organizations is to incorporate intelligence into each of their interactions in order to improve the experience and, on the other hand, generate knowledge to be able to optimize it in the future.
