Technology is transforming retail, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. With shoppers increasingly moving online, can retailers transition to digital while maintaining the benefits of in-store shopping?
NEO talks to Alexander Sokolovsky, Chief Information Officer at Russia’s top consumer electronics retailer M.Video-Eldorado Group, about leveraging technology to “hack retail” and compete with online players.
1. How can traditional brick-and-mortar retailers use new technology to remain competitive online and offline?
The traditional retail model is dead. We realized this quite a while ago. Our technology and the way we use it constitutes one of our key competitive advantages. We call this our “Hacking Retail” strategy. We are transforming into a tech-driven retail company with an extensive physical presence. And we are growing fast: our online sales doubled in 2020 vs. 2019 and already account for more than 60% of our total GMV. At the same time, our nationwide network of stores gives us a competitive advantage in fast delivery and customer service.
Our OneRetail mobile platform is creating a hybrid shopping experience across online channels and at our more than 1,100 physical stores. Browsing and shopping online and in-store shopping are one seamless and enjoyable customer experience.
This approach makes both experiences more personalized and naturally connected – it is the way forward, in my view.
2. Which tech solutions have revolutionized the shopping experience at retailers with large store networks over the past several years?
The use of data analytics and machine learning, access to fast internet, and the mass use of smartphones and mobile applications are three things that have undoubtedly revolutionized retail. Data analytics and machine learning have enabled greater personalization of offers and a more targeted customer experience. Fast internet made it possible to communicate with customers no matter where they are located, and mobile apps enabled closer cooperation and communication between shoppers and store personnel.
Technology has changed the way consumers approach shopping, and there is no going back
3. Cloud adoption is a booming area globally. Are you using the cloud for operations, and if so, why?
The cloud enables us to dramatically reduce the time to market for rolling out new products and providing fast customer access to existing solutions. We use the cloud to provide a solid foundation for our data management and digital solutions.
We improve our efficiency while also bettering the customer experience.
Last year, we embarked on an aggressive transition to the cloud – and we are moving quickly to ensure our front-office, customer-facing operations are cloud-based.
Currently, our data office is completing its move to the cloud. This includes data management and complex forecasting machine learning algorithms, which help us extend the best offers to our customers.
New solutions will be developed straight from the cloud to better align with this company-wide transition.
4. Do you feel that your company’s long history comes with some legacy issues that hold you back from leveraging the latest technologies? How do you scale?
As new technology brings new opportunities, we are also changing with the times. This includes replacing some vendor solutions with those developed in-house to better suit our needs.
Whereas in the past, we could keep some vendor solutions for several years at a time, the current landscape requires some updates and changes to be carried out every day, if not every minute, to meet customer expectations. Our tech backbone is a constantly evolving organism, so our legacy IT-landscape will gradually disappear over time.
Since we adopted new strategic priorities this year, we have been rapidly building up our tech expertise. More than 100 product teams are currently working on product development across our company, including in logistics, HR, IT and other areas.
Regarding scale: we ensure this process is not spearheaded entirely by IT. All business units are involved and incentivized to adopt new technology in working and achieving common goals. This sort of buy-in, working together and communicating, is essential to ensuring the successful rollout of new technology.
5. How do you reconcile your expansion into e-commerce with retaining your focus on brick-and-mortar stores?
As a tech-focused retailer, we give equal weight to the customer experience online and in-store, and we have seamlessly connected the two via our OneRetail tech solutions.
Our customer and consultant mobile apps are at the center of this OneRetail technology. However, it is not the only tech we employ. For example, we use AI-powered video monitoring to improve the in-store experience in a variety of ways. One of the most basic technologies is automated queue monitoring to make sure we have enough checkout counters operating.
Online and brick-and-mortar development are not mutually exclusive, but in fact complement one another perfectly.