Future-Proofing Retail: Building a Solid Foundation for Tomorrow

Over the last decade, these are just a sampling of the ‘new’ technologies and capabilities that have infiltrated the retail business realm. While retailers are traditionally hesitant to move too quickly with respect to adopting new systems and innovations (even ‘boring’ systems such as core merchandising), reality says that consumers are expecting—in many cases, demanding—that retailers begin moving faster than what is historically comfortable. Certainly, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated many companies’ innovation plans.  Particularly for more established, iconic retailers, a jump to something like the use of virtual dressing rooms stretches many retail organizations’ capacity for change, both internally and externally, as well as customer acceptance and the ability to justify the investment.

But with ever-increasing consumer expectations, it is a necessity to have these technologies on the retail capabilities roadmap. However, in a similar manner as undertaking any major home remodel, a solid foundation is an unconditional prerequisite.

As you begin working through this conundrum, there are some key foundational areas that need to be firmly established, well documented, and flawlessly managed before a company begins the next steps towards shiny new things. We consider this ‘future-proofing.’