Merriam Webster defines democratize as “to make (something) available to all people.” We are
witnessing the democratization of technology as technology providers are able to put
increasingly powerful solutions in the cloud, making industry-leading capabilities available to
even the smallest retailers.
This sea change in how technology is made available opens the door to significant opportunity
for smaller retailers. No longer does a retailer - or brand manufacturer - need to purchase
costly computer hardware, pay for expensive software licenses, and bear the burden of
expensive IT staff to manage it all. Instead, the smaller merchant can simply open the browser
on their inexpensive tablet or smartphone and log-in.
Small companies can leapfrog their larger competitors, much as developing countries deploy
the latest cellular communications technology, bypassing costly landline systems. Large
companies are encumbered by massive investments in existing infrastructure, large IT teams,
and unwieldy processes. In a world in which the pace of technology-driven innovation is
continuously increasing, large size is the enemy of the nimbleness required to successfully
navigate today’s - and tomorrow’s - tech environment.
Consider what’s happening today. A six store independent, deploying a multi-lingual app
enabling the retailer (and its brand partners) to message shoppers in the store based on
realtime location. But unlike competing beacon solutions providing the same offer to all
shoppers passing by a location, this platform leverages the latest big data science,
sophisticated predictive analytics, and machine learning to provide contextually aware offers to
the individual shopper.
But there’s more. A mid-size retailer piloting a people counting solution able to provide
anonymous demographics (age, gender, ethnicity) on shoppers coming into the store,
providing the retailer greater insight to their shopper base that is feeding merchandising,
marketing, and advertising decisions. A regional retailer installing technology using 3D sensors
able to provide deep analytics on shopper behavior at a category down to what specific
product the shopper picks up, from which shelf, and if it goes into the basket or back on the
shelf. And the list goes on.
The growing availability of powerful tech-enabled capabilities for small retailers is converging
with the already large and growing local movement. There is a window of opportunity for small
and local retailers - working with local and regional brand manufacturers - to turbocharge the
local movement by using new capabilities to know, understand, and market to their individual
shoppers. Imagine the small local honey producer now having the ability to partner with a local
retailer to communicate not only an offer but a video telling the local honey producer’s story, to
the shopper in the store. This kind of capability is poised to disrupt the largest brand
manufacturers.
But just like a populace gaining the right to control its destiny, there are responsibilities that
accompany this transformation. Independent and mid-market retailers must understand there
is a window of opportunity to leverage the technologies available to them to transform their
businesses. Some of the retailers I talk to across the country understand this, and they
personally dedicate time to staying abreast of how the latest capabilities can benefit their
business strategy. Some of these retailers are keen to pilot new solutions in an effort to learn,
others are aggressively bringing new solutions into the market to gain an edge over their larger
competitors.
But other retailers - too many in my mind - hang back, looking to follow, or even worse, bury
their head in the sand, refusing to acknowledge a rapidly changing retail world. Technology
alone is not a silver bullet for the retail industry but retailers and brands that ignore new
capabilities are destined to become cannon fodder as increasing innovation transforms retail.
Gary Hawkins is CEO of the Center for Advancing Retail and Technology. He can be reached at [email protected].