Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014 - 40

retail tech

Chasing the "e-tail" to keep
paCe with the 24/7 shopper
the pace of technology will not slow, presenting retailers everywhere
with challenges and opportunities, and big decisions to make with
respect to where they invest in order to stay ahead of the trends.
BY DAVID MCPHeRSON

Canadian Tire's Winnipeg Data Centre provides the company with 20-times more computing power.
"let's get digital, digital, time to get digital..."

presence in the most desirable shopping area in town." According to PWC's recent report: Retailing 2015: New Frontiers, technology "will be pervasive-driven by falling costs, widespread
access and adoption, a working infrastructure and increased
standardization. Digital and personal media will continue to
grow exponentially and create new channels for customer insight, interaction and engagement."
estimates show that global Internet usage will more than
double by 2015; most of these users will be mobile. Knowing
digital is now, and omnichannel is yesterday's news, what does
a retailer do to try to stay ahead of their competitors on this technology highway and not get left in the ditch? Invest money and
resources into technology at all levels. Change its mindset from
bricks and clicks to clicks and bricks. Today's
consumers' first interaction with any given retailer is usually via some sort of technology. By
the time they've set foot in your store, they'll
have done extensive research online by scouring social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter,
and Pinterest, and sought advice from friends,
family, and like-minded shoppers. The Accenture report captures this shopping shift: "If the
- ACCENTURE'S Retail technology Vision 2014
last decade has been the playground of the digitAs Accenture writes in Retail Technology Vi- al start-ups, the coming decade will see the emergence of the tradsion 2014, "The pace of technology is acceler- itional companies as the digital giants." Whether it recognizes it
ating, and the barrier to entry is lowering. It's or not, every business by default is now a digital business.
no longer enough to be friendly with customAccenture's report labels this trend as the shift from digitally
ers, have good industry connections or have a disrupted to digital disrupter. They write: "Large companies
Changing the words to the chorus of Olivia
Newton-John's classic Grammy-winning, iconic 1981 song "Physical" is apropos for today's
retailers. This refrain needs to be on the brain
of all CeOs and the soundtrack that echoes
in the halls of every warehouse, the walls of
every executive's suite, and in the aisles of
every brick-and-mortar retail location across
the country. To succeed in a 24/7 world, where
customers now shop "non-stop," not "until they
drop," every retailer must be a digital retailer
or they will be left behind.

"the pace of technology is accelerating, and
the barrier to entry is lowering. it's no longer
enough to be friendly with customers, have
good industry connections or have a presence
in the most desirable shopping area in town."

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canadian retailer | holiday 2014

Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2014

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