67% of Spanish retailers say their greatest challenges are the digitalization of customer relations and employee communications
The greatest challenge facing Spanish retailers is the digitalization of their relationship with end-users and communications with employees. This is one of the main findings of the third survey “Retail challenges in 2023: converging, convenience and talent”, conducted by Esade in conjunction with the IT consultancy SEIDOR and the communication consultancy ATREVIA, involving interviews with 250 manufacturers, retailers, distributors and wholesalers. Of the retailers interviewed, 67% said that “the digitalization of the relationship and communication with customers and employees” is the greatest challenge, with 36% of this percentage saying that their main priority is the digitalization of their relationship with end consumers, and 31%, in-house communication.
Another challenge mentioned by this sector is the need to improve in-house processes, a need driven to a considerable extent by the fallout from the pandemic. Against the ever-changing backdrop of recent years, companies have been obliged to adapt quickly, particularly by resorting to technology changes with a view to pursuing their business and tailoring it to the new demands of consumers.
Towards phygital and sustainability as a message
Another trend happening in Spain’s retail sector is the shift towards ‘phygital’, i.e., the seamless integration of physical and online sales, a tool designed to improve the customer experience. In this respect, according to Javier Alonso, Marketing & Commerce Senior Advisor at SEIDOR, “in recent years, the online sales channel was the natural evolution of business, but now companies need to really understand the customer journey and what it entails with a view to consolidating their phygital integration”.
Lightning-fast e-commerce is another trend that is currently transforming logistics management and bolstering the mainstream implementation of micro fulfilment. Sustainability is another basic marketing tool for organizations of any sort. In this respect, the biggest brands are dealing with the most important issues of society and our planet today, even though, due to the uncertainty and geopolitical landscape of the last year, efforts in sustainability have made little progress of note.
Strengthen communications with consumers and society
Likewise, most of the retailers surveyed, i.e., 43.8% of respondents, say that COVID-19 has strengthened their communications with their final consumers and society. According to Spain’s retail sector, external communications must improve, and this variable is essential in order to remain in touch with the final consumer. In addition, these increasingly two-way communications are recognized as one of the great challenges. According to Isabel Grifoll, vice president at ATREVIA, “in today’s landscape, brands must stay in touch with their target markets by ensuring increasingly personalized, two-way communications and actively listening to customers in order to convey to society the differentiating values expected by customers who are more and more aware, demanding and connected.”
Redefining operations and new business models
At a distance, retailers mention a series of variables related to the need to completely reinvent themselves due to the impact of the pandemic. Specifically, 23.1% of respondents say that the health crisis entailed a redefinition of operations and logistics. In addition, logistics will continue to be one of the most complex elements in retailers’ value chains, particularly due to the price increases currently putting pressure on supply and transport requirements and resources.
In addition, according to the report, 20.7% of respondents say that the pandemic drove them to create new business models and overhaul their points of sale. In this respect, Marc Cortes, director of the Esade Executive Master in Digital Business, explained that “consumers have fully interiorized the demand for a new shopping experience based on comfort, hyper personalization and flexibility.” “As a result, experiential shopping has evolved from being an attractive option to being a must, from the viewpoint of a customer who is more connected and informed and, therefore, more non-conformist,” he added.
Better experience for retail employees
Another challenge for 2023 is, according to the companies surveyed, the need to advance towards a model of human capital management that ensures a better experience for retail employees.
Improvements to their experience makes a direct impact on the satisfaction of end consumers, which is why retailers must redefine, specialize and permeate the roles and profiles of professionals in order to cater for a different, more competitive scenario.
