Six retail innovations from 2020

Year 2020 will go down in history as the most unforgetable year in recent times, thanks to the pandemic that swept across the globe, hitting businesses and industries across sectors. The retail industry,  although among the worst hit, seems to have risen from the ashes like a Phoenix in the last few months. Here’s a look at some initiatives that serve as inspiring reminders of what retail can do, despite a challenging scenario.

 1. Beyond Designs’ shopping-cum-dining bistro opened in Delhi is a wonderfully crafted retail space that not only offers a seamless experience to consumers shopping for signature home accessories, but also provides an exquisite dining option at a French-styled bistro

 2. Another smart initiative was CaratLane partnering with Wesense.ai to analyse customer journey inside the CaratLane stores. The collaboration helped provide useful insights that help in planning effective marketing campaigns and increasing sales conversion

 3. Covid-19 situation also accelerated the omnichannel jouneys of brands with consumer safety and touchless experience becoming top priorities. Panasonic India’s digitization of its offline stores by connecting them with the online platform Benow is one example. It facilitates all offline Panasonic-exclusive retail partners and digital imaging (camera) stores to sell the entire range of consumer electronic products online, thereby increasing their reach

4. Housejoy’s first-of-its-kind Experience Centre in Bengaluru is another interesting example of how a brand can undertake a customer connect project and see it through to completion using a technology-based approach

 5. Starbucks’ first ‘inclusive-design’ store in South Korea in alliance with the disability communities is another inspiring example. The store took up a unique initiative to extend opportunities to Starbucks partners (staff) with disabilities and create a community for them and customers alike

 6. Last but not the least, the Swedish furniture giant, IKEA’s installation of Navigation Tower and a distinguishing blue and yellow Wordmark at their store site in Mumbai is an impressive initiative. The innovative feature facilitates consumers to locate the newly opened store from a far distance