The Australian retail market is mature and highly saturated with over 79,000 businesses in operation as of 2017. Business analysts reported that spending in Australian retail technology is increasing significantly – particularly driven by multiple factors, including the entrance of international participants (e.g., Amazon) and evolving consumer-spending behaviour.
Australian Retail Environment
With over 94% of Australia’s population having access to mobile and tablet devices, online retail is expected to become the main source of business transactions in the next five years. The arrival of global online retailer such as Amazon could potentially bring significant change to the retail landscape.
Entry of international giants in the Australian retail landscape is forcing local retailers to focus on improving customer loyalty and leveraging data analytics to minimise market share loss. As a result, local retailers are adopting Hybrid models that integrate bricks and clicks as well as increasingly use social media to target customer groups both offline and online.
Retail Technologies Disrupting the Market
Technology is changing at a breakneck pace, making it difficult to accurately predict what the next innovation will be. Whether it is B2B or B2C, the world is increasingly digitally connected, thus high potential for cost cutting and improving operational efficiency. Businesses must remain technologically and structurally agile to adapt to the evolving retail landscape. The top technologies disrupting Australian retail market are:
- Mobile Point-of-Sale (mPOS)
- Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID)
- Beacon Technology
- Digital Signage
- Big Data Analytics
- Artificial Intelligence
- Robotics
- Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality
Future of Retail with Technology
Retailers are expected to leverage on technologies such as Big Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence to deliver better customer experience and fine-tune business operations. In fact, some businesses in Australia are keen on using Artificial Intelligence to eliminate mundane tasks to divert human resources to more complex jobs.
Retail technology will help businesses develop an omni-channel marketing presence to create and promote an integrated marketing communication approach towards building an enduring brand name and targeting customer groups.
