Reduced worker availability, shifts in customer expectations and diminished predictability for products and services, are the three key areas influencing the retail landscape in 2024, according to Zebra Technologies chief technology officer, Tom Bianculli.
“Given the aging population and wage inflation, reduced availability of workers has driven many retailers to think about how they can deliver solutions that reduce the amount of time it takes for frontline workers or store associates to become proficient in their role,” Bianculli told Retailbiz in a recent interview.
“Demand on frontline workers is as high as it’s ever been – from picking product to stock replenishment and store merchandising – so it’s important to be able to quickly onboard staff, make their tasks more efficient and reduce their cognitive load.”
Amid the shortage of frontline staff, labour expenses are becoming an even bigger portion of overall spend too. “For a retailer, this can typically be up to two-thirds of the cost of running a store.”
There is also a fundamental shift in customer expectations around on-demand experiences – customers being able to get what they want, when they want it, and how they want it delivered.
“For example, being able to place a coffee order on your phone through a mobile app with the ability to customise your beverage choice. The entire transaction is done digitally including payment; you simply need to swing by the café to pick up your order, which offers the ultimate convenience,” Bianculli said.
“Partly relating to customer expectations is diminished predictability as the rate at which we expect our needs to be fulfilled becomes shorter. There’s a bigger selection of product and services available that we expect to be delivered in a shorter period of time, which puts increased stress on supply chains.”
It also puts added pressure on being able to predict what product SKUs should be available in which locations. This is influencing Zebra’s customers to think more about investing in AI and predictive analytics to better forecast demand.
“We’ve seen the speed of delivery transition from days down to hours – or even minutes in some parts of the world such as India, where customers can place an order online and have it delivered within 15 minutes. I expect we’re going to see that become more pervasive in other geographies as well,” Bianculli said.
“E-commerce platforms such as Temu and Shein are growing at an extremely rapid rate, and they offer access to an almost infinite number of SKUs that can be delivered in next to zero time. Many e-commerce platforms, especially Amazon, have had so much conviction in this consumer need and desire that they significantly invest in infrastructure to enable that. We’re now seeing bricks-and-mortar retailers make those investments to leverage their footprint to deliver on those expectations. Those that aren’t doing it won’t survive and frankly, we’ve already seen that transpire for some.”