One of the challenges that arose from COVID-19 on the business side was the consumer's assessment of the contrasts between modern and traditional retail. This being the case, we have analyzed a report conducted by TĂśSÄ°AD and compiled the findings for our readers. Participants in the study who represented the modern retail business had a variety of opinions on the subject. These perspectives have gained traction, particularly in the face of pandemic-related concerns such as digitization, hygiene, and distribution.

Expressing their opinions in terms of modern retail, the participants said that traditional retail and modern retail are complementary elements and stated that public policies should reflect this understanding in order to provide consumer benefit. Managers who participated in the research by the supplier claimed that modern retail chains had implemented many new applications for the changing needs of the consumer to adapt to the modernization trend that has gained speed in retail with COVID-19. At the same time, they have carried out various projects to keep up with this change in traditional retail channels in their networks.

  

The participants, who expressed their opinions about the current situation of the retail sector within the scope of the research, also shared their predictions about the future. Particularly, the industry representatives, who expressed consumer behavior, digital transformation in the value chain, and potential risk areas, stated that the actions that businesses will take in these areas would also shape the future of retail. In order to meet the demands of the consumers, technology is the development area that the sector players attach the most importance to. 

The participants stated that digitalization is evaluated as an end-to-end whole, thus opening the door to innovations that will mark all areas of the industry in the coming years. The participants expressed the foresight that technology and its innovative solutions will increase productivity and provide a competitive advantage to businesses: Restricting digital transformation to only e-commerce will cause the change in the whole sector to be overlooked. Because technology has played an essential role in every stage of the retail industry, which covers a comprehensive value chain from end to end. It has opened the door to a comprehensive transformation from payment to delivery, from in-store inventory management to customer relations.

Participants think that concepts such as artificial intelligence, in-store monitoring, gamified shopping, kiosks, and in-store analysis will gain importance in the retail industry in the coming period. Retail stores will be able to support their customers in stores using artificial intelligence instantly, and by having a seamless shelf replenishment process, they will help customers find a product whenever and wherever they want. With in-store analysis, the behavior of consumers in the store can also be tracked. 

One of the results of the increasing competition in the retail sector has been adopting a perspective that puts efficiency at the forefront. Expressing that being efficient is one of the essential ways to gain a competitive advantage, the participants stated that this can only be possible with the more intensive use of technological opportunities. 

Conclusion

With Vispera's AI-backed image recognition technologies, retailers can maximize their performance by increasing shelf availability with the obtained shelf data, reducing out-of-stock status, and accessing perfection in retail execution. Vispera provides perfect accuracy with SKU-level granularity at the right time. Thanks to artificial intelligence, out-of-stock tracking and customer support that participants expect are provided in stores. In-store retail solutions allow retailers to capture, track and analyze in-store execution data for immediate insights and action. It's in real-time, near real-time --> it's accurate, un-manual, and provides product images, which is hard to do manually. Coming up with a comprehensive picture of what happens at the shelf, along the way is challenging at best; and this is where Vispera comes into the stage.

To learn more and start your new era in retail stores with artificial intelligence, talk to us NOW! 

This information is taken from TĂśSÄ°AD's " Perakendenin GeleceÄźi Mevcut Durum, Beklentiler ve Politika Ă–nerileri" report. For the full report: https://tusiad.org/tr/tum/item/10811-tusi-ad-in-perakendenin-gelecegi-arastirmasi-raporu-tanitildi