The retail landscape is evolving at an incredible pace. Companies are spending more time interacting with consumers outside of the store through a multitude of communication tools. Self-service options and automation are growing increasingly common, while hyper-personalisation and AI-infused recommendations aim to enhance the customer experience.
To stay ahead of the competition, Retail companies need a technology stack capable of aligning distributed, mobile employees and empowering innovation. Connected, cloud-based tools like Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS), have the potential to boost productivity, collaboration, and even customer satisfaction.
According to a report from Mordor Intelligence, the value of UCaaS in the retail industry alone was around $47,33.85 million in 2020. However, the presence of unified communication in this sector is expected to grow rapidly, at a CAGR of 24.7% to a predicted value of $17800.17 million by 2026.
Here’s your guide to how Unified Communications is influencing retail.
The Rising Need for UC in Retail
Retail companies are heavily focused on attracting, engaging, and delighting customers from a range of different environments. The success of any store depends on its ability to build powerful relationships with its target audience, often through the use of excellent communication.
UC, and UCaaS solutions give retail companies more power to align their teams around an amazing experience. At the same time, the right technology can pave the way for essential cost savings and productivity enhancements, allowing organisations to compete more effectively in a growing market. Some of the most significant benefits of Unified Communications in retail include the following:
- Enhanced collaboration: The standard retail environment is brimming with a multitude of different employees working in various locations. To truly deliver amazing experiences and ensure the overall efficiency of the company, business leaders need to ensure teams at the front of the store can connect with specialists on the back end and vice versa. UC tools offer a range of ways for teams to collaborate through video, messaging, and voice.
- Reduced costs: Keeping costs low and profit margins is high is essential for any retailer. As the marketplace grows more competitive, companies are increasingly investing in tools which reduce their outgoing expenses. UC tools can significantly lower operational costs. Not only do these tools align all of the technology a business needs into one platform (with one bill), but they also reduce maintenance fees, long-distance charges, and tolls.
- Rapid expansion: UC tools delivered in the cloud are inherently flexible, which is important for retail companies with plans to expand geographically, or through partnerships with other businesses. With the right UC system, it’s possible to add new users to the system within a matter of seconds. Provisioning new tools and training teams to use convenient cloud-based environments is simple and straightforward, even for non-technical teams.
- Improved data insights: Unified Communications aligns all of your communications technology, team members, and data in one ecosystem. This makes it easier to collect meaningful insights into everything from employee performance to the customer journey. With a UC environment, it’s easier to collect meaningful business intelligence reports, which can assist with the development and growth of the company.
The Trends Driving UC for Retail Companies
Like most companies, retail brands have undergone a rapid and sudden transformation in the last couple of years. The pandemic has delivered new challenges for retailers to overcome when it comes to connecting with, serving, and supporting customers. At the same time, new technologies in the form of XR, IoT, and AI are opening new doors for innovation.
