Analogue to Automated: Retail in the Connected Age

A number of trends are putting pressures on stores. From innovations such as Amazon Go, to the fact that shoppers’ expectations are heightened by online experiences, to social, technological, economic, industry and policy (STEIP) changes. With these issues and trends in mind, physical retailers must embrace spaces that are more agile, dynamic and connected. PlanetRetail RNG predicts e-commerce will account for 25 percent of global chain retail sales by 2022. Yet 90 percent of transactions are still completed in-store, highlighting the threat but also the continued opportunities for physical retail.

To better understand the current and future climate, Displaydata commissioned PlanetRetail RNG to carry out global research to understand what consumers wanted from physical stores, and how retailers were responding. Key highlights include that manual pricing is costing retailers up to $104 billion in sales, 57 percent of customers are losing faith over pricing inconsistencies and inaccuracies caused by manual price and promo changes, and 65 percent of consumers would welcome price changes throughout the day if a product is approaching its sell-by date.