Tag: Blockchain

6 Interdependent Disruptive Forces that are Creating New Challenges and Opportunities for Retailers

Posted on by Omprasad Devadiga

The retail industry is standing at a crossroads, facing a perfect storm of disruptive forces. Consumer expectations are evolving at a rapid pace, driven by digital natives and changing lifestyles. Simultaneously, technological advancements are reshaping how retailers operate, from supply chain management to customer engagement. And, to top it off, a complex web of tax and regulatory changes is adding to the challenges faced by businesses.

In this blog post, we’ll delve into these three interdependent forces and explore how they are shaping the future of retail. By understanding these trends, retailers can anticipate challenges, identify opportunities, and position themselves for long-term success in a rapidly changing market.

1. Evolving Consumer Behaviors

Consumers are becoming increasingly demanding, seeking personalized experiences, ethical and sustainable products, and convenient shopping options. Key trends driving this evolution include:

  • Mass personalization: Consumers expect products and services tailored to their individual needs and preferences.
  • Private label vs D2C: The rise of private label brands and direct-to-consumer (D2C) models is challenging traditional retail.
  • Conscious consumption: Consumers are becoming more aware of the environmental and social impact of their purchases and are seeking sustainable and ethical options.
  • Healthy, plant-based: Demand for healthier and plant-based products is on the rise, driven by health and wellness trends.
  • Subscribing & renting: Subscription models and rental services are gaining popularity as consumers seek flexibility and convenience.

38% of consumers are buying fewer physical products

Imperatives for Retailers

To adapt to these evolving consumer behaviors, retailers must:

  • Tailor products in-store to meet individual preferences.
  • Adapt stores to accommodate new needs, such as click-and-collect and in-store experiences.
  • Innovate to meet emerging trends and anticipate future consumer demands.
  • Apply new business models, such as subscription services and rental options.
  • Develop service-led solutions to enhance the customer experience.
  • Target emerging segments, such as Gen Z and millennials.
  • Create experiential offerings to differentiate from competitors.
  • Develop private label lines to offer unique and affordable products.
  • Build consumer trust by prioritizing sustainability, ethical sourcing, and transparency.
  • Adopt circular economy practices, such as reselling, reusing, and recycling.

2. Rapidly Changing Technologies

Technological advancements are disrupting the retail industry, providing new opportunities for innovation and efficiency. Key trends include:

  • Digital engagement: Consumers are increasingly using digital channels to research and purchase products.
  • Blockchain and crypto: Blockchain technology is enabling new business models and enhancing supply chain transparency.
  • 3D printing: 3D printing is revolutionizing product design and manufacturing.
  • Digital goods and services: The demand for digital products and services is growing rapidly.
  • The emerging Metaverse: The Metaverse offers new opportunities for virtual shopping experiences and social interactions.
  • AR and VR adoption: Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are enhancing the customer experience.
  • Generative AI: AI-powered tools can be used to create personalized content and product recommendations.
  • 5G, IoT, Cloud and Edge: These technologies are enabling new applications and improving connectivity.
  • Quantum computing: Quantum computing has the potential to revolutionize data analysis and problem-solving.

48% of consumers expect their technology use to improve in future

Imperatives for Retailers

To leverage these technologies, retailers must:

  • Apply data and analytics insights to understand consumer behavior and optimize operations.
  • Invest in customer experience to create engaging and personalized interactions.
  • Create digital-first products and services to meet the evolving needs of consumers.
  • Build supplier transparency and accountability using blockchain technology.
  • Develop integrated systems to streamline operations and improve efficiency.
  • Prioritize cybersecurity to protect customer data and prevent fraud.
  • Upgrade tech infrastructure to support new technologies and applications.
  • Integrate AI into the enterprise to automate tasks and improve decision-making.
  • Automate processes to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

3. Increasing Tax & Regulatory Complexity

The regulatory landscape is becoming increasingly complex, with new taxes, regulations, and standards emerging at a rapid pace. Key trends include:

  • Carbon/plastic taxes: Governments are implementing taxes on carbon emissions and plastic use to promote sustainability.
  • Product governance: Regulations are tightening around product safety, quality, and ethical sourcing.
  • Unhealthy ingredient bans: Governments are banning harmful ingredients from products to protect public health.
  • EPR regulation: Extended producer responsibility (EPR) regulations are requiring manufacturers to take responsibility for the end-of-life of their products.
  • Extended sin taxes: Taxes on unhealthy products, such as tobacco and alcohol, are increasing.
  • Intellectual Property: Protecting intellectual property is becoming increasingly important.
  • Labelling requirements: New labelling requirements are being introduced to provide consumers with more information about products.
  • Labor and wage laws: Labor and wage regulations are evolving to protect workers’ rights.
  • Data protection: Data privacy regulations are becoming more stringent.

48% of consumers assume products that are bad for people or the planet would be banned

Imperatives for Retailers

To navigate this complex regulatory environment, retailers must:

  • Plan for regulatory scenarios and adapt their strategies accordingly.
  • Optimize their tax and wage footprint to minimize costs.
  • Build supplier accountability to ensure compliance with regulations.
  • Set global and local norms to promote ethical and sustainable practices.
  • Manage data across borders to comply with data privacy regulations.
  • Meet new labelling demands to provide accurate and transparent information to consumers.
  • Improve reporting metrics to track performance and identify areas for improvement.
  • Monitor employee well-being and ensure compliance with labor and wage laws.
  • Actively engage with policymakers to influence regulatory decisions.

The retail industry is facing unprecedented challenges and opportunities due to the convergence of evolving consumer behaviors, rapidly changing technologies, and increasing tax & regulatory complexity. Retailers that can successfully navigate these disruptive forces will be well-positioned for long-term success. By understanding these trends and implementing appropriate strategies, retailers can adapt to the changing landscape and thrive in the future.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of “6 Disruptive Forces that are Creating New Challenges and Opportunities for Retailers,” where we’ll delve into sustainability, political & economic uncertainty, and boundaries between sectors and channels.

Cryptocurrency Point-of-Sales. Is it worth the time?

Posted on by admin

 

Omni channel Retail software -ETPgroup.com

To coin a craze: Cryptocurrencies are a 2017 thing.  Sure, people aren’t talking about them as much anymore but does that mean that the bubble has burst? Or are these companies finally finding value in the real world? The answer is yes, a lot of these companies have started real-life implementation with proof of stake helping to add indispensable value. A new trend in 2019 has been the rise of Cryptocurrency point-of-sales systems. Today we will read about what these new systems are and how big a part they could play in the future of retail.

 

What is a cryptocurrency and how can it make the world better?

Cryptocurrency is digital cash for the digital age. It’s similar to regular money but it’s digital-only, so there are no bills or coins to carry around. Cryptocurrencies have the potential to make the world better by letting any two people in the world exchange money directly, without involving a financial institution or government. This will mean more equality of opportunity for those without access to traditional financial services, like bank accounts and credit cards. In addition, the blockchain technology that makes cryptocurrencies possible is being used in novel new ways to improve the world. Examples include blockchains that help verify, identity, manage healthcare records, validate ownership, and even accelerate research on diseases like cancer, Alzheimer’s, and tuberculosis.

 

Point-of-Sales in Cryptocurrency 

Firstly it’s important to establish the use case for these point-of-sales systems. If vendors are not willing to accept crypto as a mode of payment then there is simply no scope for these systems. Some major retailers in developed nations have started to accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment. Starbucks and a Spanish coffee chain, Nostrum, announced that it would allow its coffee-drinking customers, to pay for their coffee in cryptocurrency (in select countries). The number of retailers who are open to this change will only grow in the next few years. Subway, one of the biggest players in the fast-food industry have started accepting bitcoin in some countries.  

 

Why adopt if it isn’t mainstream?

The cryptocurrency market is estimated to become a 1 trillion dollar market by 2025. Even if half that estimate is reached then we are about to see a lot of growth in this space. While companies like  PundiX and DoshEX have started rolling out Crypto card machines the space is still young and competition isn’t fierce. The advantage of getting in early and becoming an industry leader is invaluable. 

 

Is the Asia-Pacific Retail market ready for adoption? 

The volatility of the cryptocurrency market reduces its use as a medium of exchange. Having said that, countries like China have already started coming out with their own stable cryptocurrency which is pegged to the dollar. The Singapore Government has actually had trials with a few different blockchain technologies with the aim of digitizing the economy as a whole. 

While other countries like India, who had initially banned crypto entirely have now loosened their stance on the subject with it being officially legalized again in late 2019. 

Who are the ones already doing this? 

The adoption of cryptocurrency is currently widespread in Venezuela where the value of their own national currency has been on a downward spiral. The people of Venezuela have resorted to this ‘digital currency’ or cryptocurrency since it’s the easiest store of value of their money. Convenience store owners, petrol pump owners and a lot of other retailers have also now started accepting bitcoin and other currencies.

 

How can retail leverage the benefits of blockchain

Posted on by admin

etp-blog-blockchain-2

Blockchain is undoubtedly proving to be a disruption in the way financial transactions are carried out as these non-regulated distributed ledgers are ensuring secure and non-corrupt digital economic transactions using encryption. By extending the potential of blockchains to deliver low-cost, secure sharing of information and value in to the retail sector, there are certain important aspects of retail where blockchain technology can be used. Some of these applications are:

Payments:

Blockchain based payments can streamline financial transactions in multiple ways. They allow using a new form of digital currency, adding an additional option for payments. Further, due to the nature of the blockchain technology, it is very difficult to alter entries or create fraudulent entries by the participants. Transactions done on blockchain will ensure transparency and reduce the need of additional validation. By eliminating the need for third party intermediaries and additional costs for exchanging assets during transactions, blockchains can potentially prove to be cost-effective by greatly reducing the transaction fees.

Supply chain:

Blockchain based transactions can make trading potentially indisputable and also ensure integrity of information shared amongst parties. It can substantially improve visibility of information related to a product such as its location and status, ensuring better optimization of inventory level by retailers or distributors. Moreover, improved visibility of product information till the last mile will mitigate risks due to counterfeiting as the end consumers are able to validate the product characteristics (e.g. material, component specifications, manufacturing date, price, etc.).

Contracts:

Blockchain technology can redefine contract instruments with the help of smart contracts. Smart contracts use computer code to create terms of the agreement and because blockchain operates on a public level distributed among the participants in the system, the smart contracts would be easy to see and monitor. Additionally, blockchain could reduce the need for third parties such as brokers and purchasing agents and thus costs associated with them by finding the best price and terms for products as per the related information available.

CRM:

Blockchain can go much beyond just enabling trade processes and handling financial transactions. As such, blockchain technology and logic could disrupt traditional loyalty programs. Firstly, the CRM database containing information related to customers can be incorruptible and indisputable due to blockchain technology. Also, with the help of blockchain, loyalty points can be used as payment currency globally.

CEM:

Given blockchain benefits such as trackability of information and proof of authenticity mechanisms, customers can be assured of authenticity of products right from their origin. Thus the customer can trust not only the product, but also the retail brand as a whole. Moreover, enabling frictionless and secure payments could further enrich the customers’ purchasing experience. All this will greatly contribute to better customer experience management.

Also Read: Impact Of Blockchain On Supply Chain Management

Leveraging the power of blockchain in retail

Posted on by admin

etp-blog-blockchain-1

Blockchain –

a technology, though created in the previous decade, has been at the fore recently for enabling digital money transactions. The technology has garnered quite a bit of attention considering the various capabilities it encompasses. But what is making it tick? To know that, it is important to understand what is blockchain and other aspects related to it such as cryptocurrency and Bitcoin.

Cryptocurrency –

This is a digital or virtual currency that uses cryptographic techniques for security. This form of currency is not issued by any central authority, ensuring non-interference or no regulation by government bodies.

Bitcoin –

It is a type of cryptocurrency and digital payment system that was created in 2009. It uses decentralized technology for secure transactions and storing money without needing to have banks or people’s names associated with it. All it requires is a computer as Bitcoin is fundamentally a software.

Blockchain –

This is a ledger that records and maintains digital transactions done using cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. It records transactions chronologically and is shared by all nodes participating in the system thus making it decentralized.

Given a blockchain’s ability of storing digital economic transactions in a decentralized, distributed and incorruptible manner, experts opine that applications of blockchain may not be limited to financial transactions but can be extended to record transactions which can involve anything of value. This ability of blockchains to deliver low-cost, secure sharing of information and value, has the potential to bring path-breaking and innovative transformation of the way information is shared across the retail value chain.

Though the application of blockchain seems to be at a very nascent stage in other sectors such as retail, retailers must be open to the opportunity of harnessing the technology to the best of their abilities. Some of the possible applications and capabilities of blockchain in retail are briefly described here.

Also Read: Impact Of Blockchain On Supply Chain Management