China's economy grew at an annual rate of 6.7 percent in the first quarter of 2016, the slowest quarterly growth rate in seven years. This turbulence in the Chinese market has slowed consumer spending and negatively impacted the UK retail industry.
As China’s economic growth slows, it poses a serious problem for the UK retail sector; particularly for the luxury brands industry. The tough market conditions mean that retailers need to be able to maintain their profit margins despite a smaller customer base. To accomplish this goal, UK retailers need to turn to technology to remain competitive in these challenging times.
According to Nitin Rakesh, CEO and President of global IT and business solutions provider Syntel: “It is not feasible for most retailers to stop or scale back their current operations in the face of a slowdown, but they can turn to technology as a means to enhance the buying experience and retain their customers.”
Customers now have access to a range of ‘smart’ devices which play an ever-increasing role in the shopping and buying experience. Yet, despite overwhelming consumer adoption of mobile and digital technologies, many retailers have not fully embraced these channels.
“Brands need to adapt to meet customer expectations with a consistent omnichannel brand experience along with the highest levels of customer service,” said Rakesh. “Digital technologies can deliver this, through real-time analytics tools that monitor customer needs, preferences and behaviours, along with scalable, reliable cloud-based platforms that enable 24-hour access to the brand.“
Rakesh states that retailers can also overcome difficult market conditions by enhancing the efficiency of their underlying technology systems as well.
“Employing enterprise automation can help retailers reduce costs and increase speed to market, allowing them to focus on their core business,” said Rakesh. “It also enables them to operate their mission-critical systems with much greater efficiency, making it possible to fund a digital modernisation programme with the savings that automation generates.”
Rakesh’s company, Syntel, has experience integrating innovative new technologies like automation, real-time streaming analytics and Big Data into retailers’ operations, helping them transform how they run their back-office operations, interact with customers, project their brand, and adapt to volatile market conditions.
“At Syntel, we help companies identify the gaps between where they are now and where they need to be to compete,” said Rakesh. “With a solid foundation of technology and industry knowledge, we have the ability to navigate retailers through the disruption of the present and help them emerge with a future-proof business model.”
