With so many different digital solutions out there, it can be difficult to know where to begin or what to prioritise. Part of the problem is that digital transformation is often perceived as lengthy, resource intensive and expensive - but it doesn’t have to be this way. Instead, retailers should think about adopting a “quick wins” approach that delivers short-term gains while also setting the foundations for long-term transformation.

The industry has been talking about digital transformation as the ultimate retail goal for a number of years now, but part of the problem is that the goalposts keep shifting. To put this context, let’s look at what Boston Consulting Group's Retail team wrote 5 years ago:

"The development cycles of digital technology are extremely rapid — far faster than for most traditional products and services — and this means that today's companies are essentially fighting yesterday’s battles...

Our experience with companies in virtually all industries shows that success requires a structured transformation methodology built around three steps: securing quick wins at the outset, scaling up successful initiatives, and leading and sustaining this change."

The same is still true today, if not more so - as digital adoption accelerates, it is becoming increasingly difficult to know where to begin. Despite ongoing retail transformation discussions, many retailers are yet to take the digital plunge, either because they're struggling with blocked CAPEX spending, bogged down by legacy systems, or struggling with stretched resources due to the pandemic, incorrectly believing that they need to plan the whole journey up front in minute detail before they make the first move. The important thing is to have a roadmap in place that combines short-term gains that eventually amount to larger digital transformation aspirations.

Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach to digital transformation, retailers should consider a "quick wins" approach that allows them to implement and scale digital capabilities at their own pace, facilitating a full transformation roadmap one solution at a time.

So, what does this look like in practice?

Finding Quick Wins for Connected Store Success

With growing pressure on retail technology teams to deliver short-term gains for the business (while keeping costs down), retailers should be looking towards technology that is quick and easy to implement. No matter what your transformation goals are - whether that’s improving staff productivity, enabling in-store initiatives, or engaging with remote customers - the focus needs to be on “quick wins”, solutions that deliver results in the here and now, while also laying the groundwork for long-term strategic success.

These are the ideas behind the Mercaux platform, which aims to give retailers the digital tools to achieve short-term success alongside a long-term strategy of digital transformation.

You may ask, how is this possible? To help put this in context, imagine that your sales teams are struggling to accommodate an influx of customers on the shopfloor with lockdown measures lifted:

Quick Wins in Practice: Giving Customers the Digital Tools to Self-Serve

By deploying a self-serve App, you can give customers the digital tools to serve themselves, giving them access to their very own digital shopping assistant while also lessening the pressure on in-store teams. With a self-serve App, in-store customers can scan product barcodes to obtain inventory information, styling suggestions and recommended alternatives if their size is unavailable. Not only does this provide a COVID-secure option for anxious shoppers wanting to minimise social contact, but it also gives in-store teams more time to dedicate to revenue-generating activities such as 121 personal styling appointments that have a proven link with customer loyalty and conversion rates.

So, why is this a quick win? At Mercaux, our Consumer Web App can go live in just 2 weeks. No native App download is needed - customers access the App by simply scanning a QR code upon entering the store, try it out by scanning the code below to our Demo App:

Partner with Mercaux and grow when the time is right. We’ve implemented this “quick wins” approach across our full suite of digital solutions - Assisted Selling can go live in 6 weeks, and advanced Clienteling in just 8 weeks. We focus on providing initiatives that support both short-term gains and long-term innovation, delivering immediate value without requiring complete re-platforming.

If you’d like to know more about how this works, please watch our executive summary webinar that was produced after "lockdown 1", where we cover the topic in more detail:

If you have any further questions or inquiries please do get in touch with our team!