New Tools of the Trade Needed for Retailers

As the holiday season ends, retail projections tell that consumer spending may weaken slightly, but it will remain active in Australia this 2019. As we close the second decade of the millennium, challenges and opportunities arose in a highly competitive market where consumers’ behaviours and expectations evolve fast.

Forbes describes Millennial as consumers that buy with their emotions instead of their wallets, they appeal to brands that promote social consciousness. Millennials buy experiences more than products, and for them, omni-channel is the new normal.

Australian Retailers that want to adapt quickly to these changes must be backed up by the right management technology. Reducing the overhead time and investment in administration and IT enables decision-makers to focus on developing better customer experience strategies.

Expanding Into Global Markets

The global cross-border eCommerce market is set to grow by 25% annually, so for retailers, their opportunities to grow often lie outside their immediate borders.

Driven by the demand for better prices and reliable product quality in countries such as China and across South-East Asia, retailers can no longer rely on their local customer base, with the need to view regional and global markets as the “new local”.

Out With The Old, In With The New

While traditional approaches to payments, fulfilment and customer service may still work for local customers in bricks-and-mortar stores, if retailers want to break into the international market, it’s out with the old and in with the new.

Retailers of all sizes and sectors need to harness the power of new technologies and processes that can effectively launch customer-facing channels anywhere in the world.

Challenges that retailers often face span across the following areas:

• Managing inventory and fulfilment.
• Currency and tax management processes to comply with regulations across different countries.
• Customer service and managing relationships with global buyers.

It’s Time for New “Tools of the Trade”

One in four Australian customers expect their orders to arrive from another country within three days. And, while deliveries must be fast, the post-sales services like returns and repairs must be equally as efficient.

To cope with the above challenges, complexity, and demand that cross-border markets bring, it’s time for new tools of the trade.

So, if retail businesses want to succeed, it’s critical that they take advantage of what’s available to them in order to fulfil their customers and continue to expand the business.

This includes automating current processes, scaling to fit emerging opportunities, delivering real-time visibility and gaining insight into where future opportunities lie.

Real-time visibility into inventory levels, delivery performance, order management, CRM, multiple currency management  and eCommerce all contribute to why retailers choose ERP software – but above everything, retailers must adopt an open, agile mindset about their overseas opportunities.

Today’s consumers are more demanding than ever. They want to shop whenever and however they please through any channel—without sacrificing choice, convenience or price. Choosing an effective Business Management Platform can make the difference in delivering substantial and tangible results for retail businesses.

References

• Forbes, 5 Trends that Will Redefine Retail in 2019.
• Contevo, The state of Australian eCommerce in 2018.