e-commerce in retail space brings solid boost

The pandemic has proved to be a source of immense learning for every business, especially for the ecommerce space. The year 2021 witnessed the emergence of digital as a preferred medium for businesses that led to increased adoption of digital for reaching out to customers. The e-commerce industry due to its highly volatile nature has been one of the earliest to recognize the urgency of adopting the ‘new normal.’

The necessity of employing omni-channel for ensuring sales across channels has paved the way of employing an e-commerce enabler that streamlines all processes such as stock management, warehousing, payment reconciliation and order management. Omni-channel retail (or omnichannel commerce) is a multichannel approach to sales that focuses on providing seamless customer experience whether the client is shopping online from a mobile device, a laptop or in a brick-and-mortar store.

The year ahead will see digital transformation being recognized as an indispensable element in the ecommerce industry to drive operations, fulfill customer demands and ensure customer retention. Many support functions that drive ecommerce operations will come to the forefront.

2021 has been a year of learning as it exposed businesses to unexpected situations with global markets opening, shutting and then re-opening again. What emerged as the only tool to cope up is - Technology. Businesses have fast adopted the use of technology from their production units to supply-chain systems, from marketing to customer loyalty systems. In the midst of all this, smart businesses have also accepted the importance of RIGHT PRICE!

Technology has also played a key role in price determination of products and services across sectors at massive scales and high velocities. As pricing majorly contributes towards the growth and success of any company, technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are starting to effectively decide the pricing of products and services. With the advent of speculations around the new Covid variant, technology is bound to be at the forefront in 2022.

Finally, reliability of intelligent technologies for decisions related to sensitive areas like pricing will increase because manual errors or any incorrect pricing decisions shall prove to be fatal for businesses in the tech-enabled consumer world. Keeping the current situation in view, companies across retail, travel, entertainment and many more are further going to adopt and evolve technologies that can help in real-time pricing acknowledging the dynamic market conditions and consumer sentiments.