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The Future Of Retail: Harnessing Technology And Big Data For Big Sales

When it comes to the use of technology in retail, we’ve only begun to scratch the surface of what can and will be done in the near and long term. Not only will we see changes in core operating technologies (better inventory control, better time management, and better consumer experience) but we will also see significant, even radical, changes in business processes and business models. Talk as we will about new and cool technologies, the greater challenge is in their adoption and deployment. The technology is available, yet traditional brick-and-mortar retail has waited decades to deploy it.

While the ability to use and relate unstructured data has been in existence for decades, now that someone has labelled it “big data,” there’s a rush by everyone to jump into the discussion. However, for the fashion industry that sells the “brand experience,” just knowing the topic is far from enough. Through the use of “big data,” the industry has access to an infinite amount of information, from what shirts look best and what fabric or style fits best to what sizes will be needed based on the widely varying specifications from different brands. With advances in retail technology, the insights that we will be able to glean from this data will only increase.

So how will the fashion retailer know what to offer in order to increase sales? How will the retailer leverage existing and future data to determine our favorite brands, fits, silhouettes and colors, as well as our current needs and preferred shopping environments? Picture walking into a retail shop and feeling immediately at home — the shop owner who had installed an espresso machine years ago now offers a different experience. Now, the espresso machine can automatically sense that it’s you and make you a cup exactly as you take it as soon as you enter the store. The store owner will then ask you to try on a winter jacket (that fits you perfectly) — they know you’ll need a winter jacket since both your metadata and your big data have indicated that you’ll soon be vacationing in the alps — all this while you’re drinking an espresso.

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{loadposition MWIAA} Technologies exist to drive changes in retail experiences as far and as fast as retail is ready to deploy. But, traditional retail models are often encumbered by their inheritance, while the unencumbered world of e-Commerce retail has little impediments – it’s a different game for them. That “different game” may be why so much of the traditional brick-and-mortar retail industry has struggled with their entrance and maintenance of an effective e-Commerce strategy. While traditional retail struggles with its “buy–hold – sell –ship” inventory ownership KPI’s between its stores and the web, e-Commerce retailers are perfecting the “sell — source — ship” model with an inventory commitment that is primarily in bag and boxes used for shipping directly from the source. 

There’s no argument that omnichannel retailing is the way forward — as soon as we can agree on what omnichannel really is — or means. Is it as simple as stating that software has to be able to display itself on a laptop, but also look as nice on a smartphone, or tablet? Or, will you be able to choose to view the software on the display in your car, or on your interactive entertainment center? Is omnichannel retailing having a vending machine outside your shop selling your most popular products? Or, better yet, what about putting a vending machine at the point or place that the consumer would use the item? Imagine purchasing a ski jacket from a vending machine placed at the ski chalet.

In the brick-and-mortar world, omnichannel retailing is going to produce radical changes in shopping experiences that go way beyond just mobile point of sale. We’ll see fitting rooms that offer product suggestions, interactive devices that let you request an alternative product or the same product in another size of color without having to search for the assistance of a store employee. And in e-Commerce we’ll see the use of web cameras allowing visualization of various products before you make a purchase (many retailers already do this — check out Warby Parker’s Virtual Try-on feature).

Omnichannel will truly be the integration between your data and the retailers’ offerings — we’ll stop thinking “screen size” and start thinking that very soon all of our attributes will be read wirelessly and matched to upcoming seasons and products. Ultimately, as you begin a retail experience, whether it is in an actual store or online, you will be greeted with exact products picked out specifically for you. You’ll pick the fabric and pattern for the shirt you want, and while you shop, the fabric will be printed, cut, sewn, labelled, folded and waiting for you by the time you conclude your shopping experience. The technology exists today – we’re just waiting for the business model that can successfully deploy it.


Robert McKee is the Fashion Industry Strategy Director for Infor.  McKee has more than 40 years of experience working in and with apparel, footwear, home textiles, and fashion accessories companies. Prior to Infor, McKee was the Strategy Director for Fashion at Lawson Software, and the Director for the Intentia Fashion Solution at Intentia International. He has held a series of senior roles including SVP of Operations at O’Bryan Brothers, Inc., VP of Manufacturing, Sourcing and Quality Control at Bachrach Clothing, Inc., and VP of Manufacturing at The Company Store.

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