Published on in Retail • Digital Transformation

Shopping and civilisation go together. That’s what some historians say. In the centre of ancient Athens, the Agora was a public space where philosophers like the Stoics met to discuss the meaning of life.

But, in truth, most of them were there to shop! In Ancient Rome shopping became a pastime for the wealthy elite.

Jump forward to Renaissance Florence or Venice and find the same focus on… shopping. People browsing goods, comparing prices, and bartering to get the best deal.

The rise of the department store and retail experience

Then, in the 19th century, the department store. Grand palaces of entertainment and consumerism which were, initially, targeted at wealthy women in big cities. But, they soon caught on with the rest of us.

Bon Marche in Paris, Harrods in London, KaDeWe in Berlin, Marshall Fields in Chicago, and Macy’s in New York, all became synonymous with ‘window shopping’.

Nothing has changed. Everything has changed. Digital is transforming the way we shop, but not why we shop.

Shopping is about entertainment just as much as it is about consumption.

That’s why we mix social media with ‘window shopping’ on the internet. It’s why we like to stroll through stores with a smartphone in our hands checking out reviews about products, or what our friends say on Facebook, or sharing images of a jacket or a dress on Instagram to get instant feedback from our friends.

The importance of joined-up retail technology

Retail is becoming hyperconnected on both sides of the equation: behind the scenes across the supply chain through to data analytics; and on the shop floor with technology that connects consumers with each other and with the stores that hope to persuade them to part with their money.

In Fujitsu’s new whitepaper, Retail’s Future in a Hyperconnected World, we look at what retailers must do to stay ahead of consumer behaviors, and make the most of the technology that they carry with them to not only boost sales, but understand why some goods do well and others don’t.

Digital tracking solutions are already helping retailers understand how consumers move through their stores, where they dwell, and where they don’t.

The same technology helps match staffing levels to busy times of day, or the demand generated by promotions and offers. Ensuring enough till-points are open is also vital; it eases queues and reduces the opportunities for consumers to change their mind about a purchase.

What the whitepaper shows is that hyperconnected business in retail is all about achieving a deeper understanding of the consumer, and enabling them to make frictionless purchases. Browsing needs to be fun, and buying should be easy.

It’s a relationship that extends across all channels: online to in-store and everything in between.

The fact that many pure play retailers are now opening bricks and mortar stores – Amazon’s Go stores will multiply especially after their acquisition of Whole Foods in the USA – emphasises the point: retail is an ecosystem of demand and supply. It always has been.

Digital however makes it more connected, immediate and easier to implement.

The point is to create your own version of hyperconnected retail. We hope our whitepaper provides a good overview of what that can mean for each retail business.

It’s always been vital to stay ahead of consumer needs and behaviours, it’s the only way to succeed in a sector that’s inherently competitive. Consumers’ desires haven’t changed – they want great choice, quality and service – but the channels through which they get those things have.

Being hyperconnected means you can turn browsing into sales faster and yield rich analytics to keep selling… and selling.

Download Retail’s Future in a Hyperconnected World.

This post first appeared on the Fujitsu Global blog.

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Richard Clarke

Executive Director, Global Retail at Fujitsu
Reporting into Fujitsu’s retail leadership in Japan, Richard is responsible for coordinating, growing and promoting a global retail business across all our markets.

Richard is responsible for Fujitsu’s global retail strategy, which includes prioritizing markets, building the case internally and with partners for new solution development, and executing specific growth initiatives.

He develops and executes compelling and relevant retail strategies to expand key markets; he is responsible for developing a portfolio of global solutions and services to meet customers’ needs; and he works side by side with strategic customers to develop their relationship with Fujitsu. He leads and supports client specific sales campaigns and is responsible for building pipeline in targeted geographic or solution areas.

Richard leads Fujitsu’s relationships in retail with strategic ICT and business partners, is the lead representative for Fujitsu in retail with the analyst community and is tasked with identifying and delivering new channels to market – direct and indirect

Richard leads Fujitsu’s global retail strategy, which includes prioritising markets, building the case internally and with partners for new solution development, and executing specific growth initiatives.

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