What Retailers Need to Know About Retail 4.0 in 2020

Heightened brand experience. Systemic integration. Ultra-efficient inventory and fulfillment. Sales associates turned sales superstars. This is retail 2020. The question is, will your organization be ready?

Retail has experienced tremendous evolution since the inception of new technology, increasing consumer demands, and rapidly shifting economic conditions. The latest iteration of digital transformation in retail has already been implemented by enterprise retail leaders. It has been coined by industry insiders as “Retail 4.0.”

We’ve moved from single-channel retail, to multichannel, to the growth of e-commerce, to finally in 2020, the future of retail. Retail 4.0 is one that's integrated, that's right now, that emphasizes and enables end-to-end visibility and communication like never before to meet customer demand and impeccably manage inventories.

Here’s what's in store for retailers that adopt Retail 4.0 in 2020 and beyond.

Access to Technology Will Level the Playing Field

In the past, the technology that afforded the visibility and integration to allow retailers to truly evolve their businesses was limited to giant conglomerates. However, 2020 brings with it enterprise-level technology that provides retailers of any size access to tools that can pave the way for better shopping experiences at an affordability that opens doors for these retailers instead of closing them. Retail 4.0 tech enables retailers the opportunity to implement conveniences that cater to consumer demand without upending their processes or crippling budgets.

You Will Go Wherever Your Customer Travels

The future of retail is no longer reliant on customers walking through the doors of your brick-and-mortar stores. Your brand will travel with your customer wherever they go, blazing a trail of valuable personal data that's ripe for the picking.

Retailers in 2020 are beginning to fully understand and leverage the enormous opportunity personal consumer data has to frictionless commerce. More than 80 percent of consumers report social media and online ads impact their purchase decisions. By arming your operation with customer profiles based on purchase history, social media activity, and a host of other demographics, retailers can now create laser-targeted promotions that can even be geo-targeted for the nearest physical retail location.

Impeccable Inventory Designed for a Need-it-Now Mentality

In iVend Retail’s Global Shopper Trends Report, the data shows that 91 percent of consumers research products online before making an in-store purchase. This means that your inventory needs to be real time and it needs to be flawless. Anything less will cost you customers and money.

The great news is that retailers that embrace Retail 4.0 can take their inventory and fulfillment to heights never before imaged that will not only win over customers — both new and returning — but compete against e-commerce giants.

By embracing platform flexibility, retailers can integrate an “endless aisle” concept that expands the variety of their brick-and-mortar inventory while using Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence to create a highly granular, real-time picture of perfection when it comes to stock management up and down the supply chain.

What Are You Waiting For? Seize Your Retail 2020.

Adopting an integrated, end-to-end retail solution has never been more vital, nor accessible than it will be in 2020. Those that choose to seize the opportunity of Retail 4.0 will be handsomely rewarded. So what are you waiting for?

Paula Da Silva is executive vice president of global partners and alliances at iVend Retail by CitiXsys, a global provider of integrated omnichannel solutions for retail and hospitality chains sold through a worldwide distribution network of certified partners.