How technology is revolutionising the holiday retail period

The last two months of the year are dominated by large-scale retail events and holidays. These include Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Single’s Day and Christmas. According to data from the ONS, consumers started Christmas shopping earlier than usual in 2021 – with retail sales in stores and online up by 0.8%, with clothing sales leading the way. [1]

Christmas spending is by far the biggest retailing period in Europe, with £220bn in sales being estimated for 2021 in the UK, Germany and France alone.[2]

The retail industry in general has had a turbulent time in the past few years, driven by consumer behaviours that have been rapidly accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. ‘Omnichannel’ approaches have become the norm, with retailers attempting to provide a seamless online and offline engagement experience, as well as increasing cost savings and efficiency. Retailers want to create smart shopping experiences by gathering data of their customer base in-store and online.

Retailers are utilising the latest in technologies to attract customers and stay competitive in a ruthless market. According to data from Gartner, 63% of retailers expect to invest more on business intelligence and analytics – and 35% of retailers expect to spend more on AI. [3]

How exactly are these technologies being used and how are China Telecom (Europe) supporting businesses to revolutionise the retail industry?

Drones and robotics

Robotics is becoming increasingly sophisticated. What was once considered to be science fiction is now reality. Major advancements in big data, AI and modern materials is creating smarter, more capable robots. In-store robots are supporting staff, warehouse robots are moving goods and stocking robots are stacking shelves. These robots are able to work 24/7, delivering a rapid ROI for the retailer.

In-Store Wi-Fi

Physical stores are struggling, but they are finding new ways to drive customers into the store. In-Store Wi-Fi does not sound like a revolutionary technology, but it enables retailers to create detailed shopping-related data and metrics for customers who chose to connect to their network. Used well, in-store Wi-Fi can create a more enjoyable experience for the customer, creating in-store interactive maps and flagging products that may interest them – as well as being on sale.

Digital Signage

If you live in an urban centre, you may have noticed the rapid spread of digital signage. Providing ads, messages, alerts and other information, they are also being in deployed in-stores with eye catching displays. Where traditionally stores would need to regularly replace physical advertisements, digital signage allows them to update all of their displays nationwide with ease. A whopping 84% of UK retailers believe digital signage creates significant brand awareness and digital signage adds an upswing in overall sales volume of 32%![4]

China Telecom (Europe) partners with a vast number of hardware and software vendors to provide bespoke retail solutions to retain and grow your customer base, reduce overheads and keep your branches connects.

To find out more:

Link to retail guide https://media.chinatelecomeurope.com/view/417327915/

Links to SD-WAN page https://www.chinatelecomeurope.com/product/sdwan/

Link to IoT page https://www.chinatelecomeurope.com/product/iot/

[1] BBC News https://www.bbc.com/news/business-59695242

[2] Published by Statista Research Department, Dec 7, 2021

[3] Gartner 2021 CIO Survey

[4] Digital Signage today