Retail Critical Issues

Giving your communication the human touch can play a crucial role in bridging the gap between data privacy and personalisation, new research by customer consultancy Quadrangle has found.

A recent report by analysts at Retail Economics has predicted that half of all retail purchases will be made online by 2028. In the wake of this, it’s important that high street retailers take steps to remain competitive.

A new report from Juniper Research has found that biometric authentication will be used to secure $2.5 trillion worth of mobile payment transactions by 2024, an increase of almost 1,000% on the $228 billion expected to be transacted through the method by the end of 2019.

Finnish startup Sulapac raised an exceptional €15 million to engine its scale-up and internationalisation. The funding enables further development and broadening of its recipe portfolio. The investors include the world’s leading luxury house Chanel and international media houses, all with valuable expertise to accelerate Sulapac’s expansion.

Zendesk, Inc. has announced that more than a third (39%) of British Gen Z consumers shopping with legacy brands would opt to go into a store to speak to staff in person versus using digital communication channels.

More than three-quarters of UK shoppers (79 per cent) use peer review sources such as Amazon reviews and Trustpilot at least once before making a purchase decision, underlining the continued importance of word of mouth and the opinion of others for most consumers.

The majority of workers resort to borrowing to cover the cost of Christmas. Research from Hastee study finds 71% of workers in the UK and Ireland source additional funds during the festive period and 61% admit Christmas-related financial stress impacts their performance at work.

The December 2019 edition of Manufacturing & Logistics IT features a Special Technology Report on Digital Transformation.

For this report, we spoke with experts from the vendor and analyst communities about recent trends and ongoing areas of development within the world of Digital Transformation, and what users can potentially look forward to in the not too distant future.

By Alex Saric, smart procurement expert, Ivalua.

UK businesses have never been more dependent on their suppliers to help them deliver goods and services to their customers. Be it retail, manufacturing or financial services, suppliers have a vital role to play when it comes to innovation and meeting customer expectations. However, as supply chains become increasingly global, businesses are potentially exposing themselves to more risk than ever before.

Amidst an uncertain and challenging landscape, commerce chiefs across the board are presenting a positive front; nearly four-fifths (79%) of digital commerce leaders feel ready to take advantage of the opportunities digital commerce has to offer, according to a study from Wunderman Thompson Commerce.