The retail industry is always demanding, but it has been tested extensively during the pandemic. The sudden outbreak and following changes forced businesses to innovate and adapt quickly. Retail businesses were already reinventing itself to battle the rise of eCommerce. Now, blurring the line between retail and eCommerce with increasing digitization and adoption of new-age technologies, both businesses and retail call centers and eCommerce call centers are turning these changes and challenges into opportunities. Two significant trends are getting prominence in the retail industry that are contributing to business resilience and sustenance.
Two Significant Trends in the Retail Industry to Achieve Sustenance
Circular Retail
Retailers will incorporate circular concepts into their business practices as global consumers and businesses transition from linear consumption patterns to closed-loop systems, promoting repurposing, redefining growth, and taking accountability for the whole lifecycle of their products. Most US corporations are seeking to move toward circularity, and the future is already taking shape.
Consumer attitudes and expectations have changed as a result of the worldwide pandemic, driving more demand for retail products that are good for the environment. According to a recent study, after the outbreak, 65% of German and UK customers said they would now purchase more durable goods. In comparison, 64% of Chinese consumers will consider purchasing more eco-friendly products. Retail call centers and contact centers must be ready to accommodate the changing customer support emerging due to these transformations.
Retailers who are thinking forward are already responding. For instance, an international furniture store has developed a circular hub where it keeps out-of-production goods and pre-used products and buys back used goods from consumers. A well-known fashion brand has developed the first circular product line of clothes produced from recycled, organic, biodegradable, and sustainably derived materials
Through better demand forecasting and supply chain management, retailers will be able to boost product rotation and asset utilization as artificial intelligence (AI) and analytics are increasingly used to support the concept of circularity. The industry will benefit from this as circular economy initiatives will significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions and sustenance.
Evolution of Ecosystems
Future-focused retail businesses will promote ethical practices and behavior in their business process and organizational environment. They will create new sourcing criteria and assist third-party suppliers in integrating ethics into their business practices. The same applies to outsourcing partners offering retail call center or contact center services. These BPO or BPM service providers must align with retailers’ beliefs and vision to complement their business needs and ethics.
Remember, every store relies on several outside providers. However, supply chains must become more transparent as customer expectations are rising significantly. The reason is there is an increasing sensitivity to the danger that suppliers will be unable to satisfy your requirements and standards for products, services, or environment. In response, ESG-focused solutions for risk management will become more prevalent in the future generation, allowing retailers to evaluate and rank the effects of their third-party value chain. Retail call centers are included in this evaluation and must meet these new criteria.
Also, retail enterprises will intervene to offer assistance if problems are found in sustainability and the ecosystem. Multinational firms have already started educating their suppliers and rewarding them for embracing sustainable practices. This type of activity can have a network effect when implemented in large numbers. It allows shops to propagate moral practices across their operations quickly.
The next-generation procurement ecosystems will have similar experiences and impacts as they will assist retailers in partnering with suppliers who closely align with an organization’s greater goals. For instance, an innovative textile recycler and a major store recently partnered for several years, strengthening the indirect value chain for a highly sustainable product and raising the ethical worth of the ecosystem.
Conclusion
A lot of retailers have been able to weather the fury during the pandemic due to digital transformation. However, retail firms must continue to innovate as they try to meet the gap in demand in the post-pandemic environment. Retail call centers and eCommerce call centers are now adapting to the new trends and changing customer expectations. So, retail businesses and outsourcing partners must work in tandem to utilize the new opportunities arising out of these changes and disruptions in the industry. So, by using data and analytics, embracing circularity, supply chain resilience, and promoting an ecosystem of growth and development, retailers must prepare for coming years to face challenges and disruptions and sustain growth.
