This Week in Innovation: Intersection of Digital Transformation and Physical Retail

This Week in Innovation: Intersection of Digital Transformation and Physical Retail

On last week’s episode of This Week in Innovation, Iterate.ai’s CTO, Brian Sathianathan, and podcast co-host, Jeff Roster, sit down with Candezent Advisory’s Dr. Gwen Morrison to talk about the intersection of digital transformation and physical retail. During this podcast, the three of them discuss the practicality of being visible in the metaverse (as a retailer), how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed consumers’ behaviors, and how retailers need to consider the future of voice-activated technology for their businesses. 

Dr. Morrison expresses her passion for supporting retail tech startups to accelerate growth and business opportunities. With her extensive experiences in retail agency and consulting, she asserts how critical it is for retailers to connect the dots between the physical and digital in order to create a cohesive and efficient shopping experience. Jeff asks Dr. Morrison if she thinks the metaverse will truly take off for retail. We already know that the metaverse is working to be an extension of users’ lives and not just a gaming experience, and Dr. Morrison alludes to this by explaining that if retailers lead with making their brands part of consumers’ lives, as opposed to simply being a sort of experiential playtime, then yes, it will take off. She mentions how Nike is already doing this with their new trademarks in the metaverse. We then learn from Dr. Morrison that predictive analytics will support retailers’ success in the metaverse by understanding consumers’ behaviors and adapting that data to a metaversal retail experience. Although the retail industry is still in the early stages of participating in the metaverse, retailers must have a keen understanding of how it all works in order to quickly integrate their brand into this virtual space whenever necessary. 

Brian then transitions the conversation to the impact that COVID-19 has had on the retail industry. We are reminded that the pandemic has changed the shopping experience to one where consumers are more likely to shop from home and expect frictionless opportunities. Gwen affirms this by naming that the pandemic absolutely hyper-accelerated ecommerce and the demand for convenience in ways that none of us would have imagined two years ago. Taking it one step further, Gwen describes how consumers became idea-driven and aspirational in their shopping due to the confinement that the pandemic created. Consumers were more likely, during the pandemic, to use Pinterest for inspiration on how to make their home and/or home office a better space to be for example. Consumers, now more than ever, are aware of their own shopping habits and what experiences they want to create for themselves with the products that they buy- this is a major insight for retailers to consider. 

Voice activated technologies soon enter the conversation. Dr. Morrison describes a digitally innovative experience that some retailers are (others should be) experimenting with: having consumers use a voice prompted device that provides store-specific search results to then include AR/VR simulation for the consumer to try on clothes. To that, Dr. Morrison describes adding on an AR/VR runway with the consumer’s favorite song playing in the background while they are trying on the clothes; this reminds us as listeners that retailers have the potential to truly transform the shopping experience with digital transformation. Additionally, voice-activated technology can be used as an inclusive tool for elderly people and people with disabilities. Dr. Morrison explains that in the retail space, there have already been successful tests done using voice assistants to support shoppers who are not able to effectively locate a product or item that they need, due to a disability or impairment. Dr. Morrison says that these technologies already exist, but they aren’t strategically being integrated into one another quite yet, causing innovative delays for the retail industry. Another way voice-led technology plays into the retail world is through branding the word or phrase that commands the device to activate. Brian takes us down memory lane, reminding us that years ago, the ultimate asset for commerce was the ownership of domain names. Now, the prized possession is owning the most memorable activation keyword. We all know to say, “hey Siri” or “Alexa” when wanting to activate an iPhone or Amazon Echo, respectively. These notably branded voice assistants have even become part of pop culture. Should retailers consider adding voice components to their digitalization processes, it is worth exploring how to brand the actual phrase that commands the device to perform an action or task. 

The podcast concludes with Dr. Morrison offering some last words of wisdom to listeners, particularly retailers and new entrepreneurs. Dr. Morrison asserts that AI and ML is foundationally baked into everything now, and that retailers who don’t accept this are already way behind competitively. When Jeff asks what advice she would give to new entrepreneurs, Dr. Morrison says to stick with what you came up with and don’t restart or pivot too soon– it takes time to get the investor community on board and if you change directions too quickly, that won’t be beneficial for your business. In other words, “stick with it, don’t pivot” as she stated. Lastly, Dr. Morrison explains that she wishes she would’ve been taught earlier on in her career to be more confident. Feeling good in your own skin and being confident in yourself is invaluable, Dr. Morrison describes. These are all helpful and thoughtful pieces of advice that retailers and entrepreneurs should heed. 

At Iterate.ai, we are ready to support your company’s digital transformation. We agree with Dr. Morrison regarding the innovative potential that voice technologies can have on the retail industry. Looking to integrate voice activated tools into your company’s app? We can do that, using our low-code platform, Interplay®. For more information on how we can bring innovation to your business, please connect with us here.

Editor’s Note: Dr. Morrison is an advisor to Iterate.ai