Retail

Retail

The Retail industry is rapidly evolving with major changes in customer demographics, buying habits, technology preferences and service expectations. In many instances, these changes are happening much faster than mainstream retailers can adjust. Some of the key trends altering the competitive landscape include:

Some of the critical questions that every executive needs to answer include
  • Seamless meshing of online and offline experiences
  • Mobile / Social Commerce
  • Same-day Delivery
  • Contextual Retailing (Geo-targeting)
  • Predicative Analytics

With these trends in mind, HBSC is helping retailers improve operations across channels to create vastly improved customer experiences

In today’s retail environment, organizations are challenged to provide a seamless shopping experience in stores, online and across mobile channels. Over the past few decades we have seen the progression from Mom and Pop stores to monolithic Department stores to Online Retailers such as Amazon.com and Google Shopping Express. Amazingly, Google Shopping Express is now offering over a billion products and its customers have also expressed interest in a subscription-based shopping experience.

These mega-trends have changed the customer experience expectation at an unprecedented rate. While more than 80% of retail sales still come from traditional stores, the trend towards online commerce and same-day delivery in metropolitan areas is here to stay.

Product distribution and return convenience is also an expectation. Retailers are using lockers and pickup boxes at store and non-store locations to further enhance the customer experience. Shoppers also want the ability to easily return online orders at local stores via a simple and seamless process.

Consumers are increasingly using mobile devices to compare prices, research product reviews and interact on social media (greatly relying on peer recommendations). In some retail segments, mobile sales are the fastest growing channel.

Contextual Retailing is also on the rise. Customers are increasingly turning to their own smart phones and tablets in stores to make decisions and receive discounts. Using a combination of customer behavior data, purchase history and social media profile data, retailers are figuring out how to empower and influence customers. In some cases, mobile is driving over 50% of the retail purchase decisions and mobile coupons are playing and increasing role as print media continues to transition to digital media. Additionally, personalized and targeted promotions will increase in prevalence as digital media and predictive analytics continue to become the mainstream.

As the retail environment continues to increase in competition, it is becoming an operational imperative to address overall infrastructure and logistics costs. Many retailers will need to completely replace their ERP, HRIS and IT systems and processes to take advantage of many cost lowering alternatives such as improved transaction systems, cloud computing, integration technologies, mobile apps and predictive analytics.

Companies that wish to compete in this increasingly dynamic environment must leverage innovative technologies platforms, develop new organizational competencies, improve efficiencies and become more customer-centric. The success of retail companies will be directly correlated to the technology that enabled the best customer experience. Having an inflexible infrastructure or a stagnant technology roadmap can greatly hinders an organization’s growth. The overall pace of change in the retail industry has been staggering and companies that wish to maintain or accelerate their dominance will need to build new technical and organizational capabilities. If your retail organization is seeking to win in the next 10 years and beyond, HBSC Strategic Services can help.

Case Studies
What We Do

Client

Online Retail Company

The Challenge

A leading fashion retailer faced declining customer engagement and conversion rates across its online store. Shoppers found it difficult to discover products that matched their preferences, and the brand struggled with high cart abandonment rates due to impersonal recommendations and a lack of real-time assistance. Additionally, customers desired a more seamless omnichannel experience.

The Solution

  • Personalized AI Shopping Assistant – Leveraging AI-powered chatbots and virtual stylists, the retailer provided real-time, personalized recommendations based on a customer’s browsing behavior, purchase history, and style preferences.
  • Visual Search & Augmented Reality (AR) Try-Ons – Customers could upload an image of an item they liked, and the AI would find similar styles in the retailer’s catalog. AR technology allowed users to try on clothes and accessories virtually before purchasing.
  • Dynamic Pricing & AI-Optimized Promotions – Using machine learning, the platform adjusted pricing and promotions based on customer demand, purchasing patterns, and competitor analysis, ensuring customers received personalized discounts.
  • AI-Powered Omnichannel Integration – A seamless link between online and offline shopping was created with AI-driven inventory management. Customers could check real-time stock levels at nearby stores, reserve items for in-store pickup, and receive personalized in-store recommendations through mobile notifications
  • Predictive Analytics for Inventory & Demand Forecasting – AI analyzed shopping trends to optimize stock levels, reducing overstock and preventing shortages, ensuring customers always found their desired products.

The Benefits

  • Enhanced Customer Experience – AI personalization increased engagement, leading to a 35% improvement in product discovery and recommendation accuracy.
  • Reduced Cart Abandonment – Intelligent promotions and dynamic pricing decreased cart abandonment by 22%.
  • Seamless Omnichannel Experience – The AI-powered integration led to a 40% increase in online-to-offline sales.

By leveraging AI and eCommerce innovations, the retailer transformed its customer buying experience, driving engagement, loyalty, and revenue growth while positioning itself as a digital retail leader.

What We Do

Our consultants bring on average 15-20 years of experience in working across a diverse set of Retail companies. We have built significant strategy, operations and technical expertise in the following areas

  • Traditional point-of-service
  • Online commerce
  • Electronic payments
  • Mobile commerce

Multi-disciplinary Skillsets

Our multi-disciplinary consultants bring high-value skill-sets to each engagement. These skills include Business Strategy, Operations, Technology selection and architecture and Organizational Design. The ability to work across multiple functional competencies differentiates the value that HBSC brings to each Client project.

Cross Industry Expertise

At HBSC Strategic Services, we do our very best every day to provide our Clients with an exceptional team of resources to tackle their most challenging issues. Our Clients often comment on the breadth and depth of our expertise and our ability to think creatively and help transform their businesses.

HBSC enabled and then accelerated our Digital Transformation process. Their collaborative consulting was critical to our decision-making and ultimate success.

COO - Online Retail Company

Register now for our Unified Leadership Training Course

careers@hbsconsult.com

Receive HBSC's email newsletters to learn more about our perspectives and insights.


    © 2025 HBSC. All Rights Reserved.

    Crafted with Love: DigiCorns