Technology in Fashion Retail

Gunning for Fashion Retail’s Holy Grail – Omnichannel

• Fashion retail is fast approaching a tipping point.
• The blending of the digital and physical worlds has prompted the coining of a new terminology- the ‘digical’ world. But consumers still want more.
• The year 2015 was dominated by omnichannel retailing and the digital wallet. This year, however, retailers are focusing on speedy delivery, beacons, RFID tags and other emerging technologies.
• While ROI is definitely a key factor in the deployment of these innovations, these technologies are also paying attention to improving customer satisfaction, especially at a time when retailers, from e-commerce to brick-and-mortar, are losing ground on the biggest disrupter of all: Amazon.

Below, we take a look at three retail technology innovations in the fashion industry making a difference in 2016.
1.Social commerce

•  Generation Y wants to be able to shop straight from social media if they see something they like, and so “Buy now” buttons are gradually being plastered on all major social media platforms  
• Companies are also using new technology to display their brands on social media platforms and receiving a large number of hits using data analysis and market survey techniques.
• A large majority of 18 to 24-year-olds have decided to buy something after seeing their friends wearing it online – and almost as many in each age group share “selfies” from shop changing rooms in order to canvass opinions before deciding to buy themselves. 
• Around a quarter of shoppers, overall follow fashion brands – and those that do are highly engaged, even in the 45-54 age group.
• Being able to move from inspiration to purchase in a single click will obviously have a dramatic impact, turning more of this activity into business – and more importantly giving fashion marketers a much clearer view of their social ROI, as well. However, retailers need to harness the impulse to share while considering the best way to stand out on brand-neutral social spaces.

2. Tailored messaging and recommendations

• Good tailoring is arguably now as important to fashion marketing as it is to the clothes themselves. With so many brands active across all channels online, the noise – whether on social networks or in customers’ inboxes – is getting deafening. 
• Clever personalization, which can be as basic as prioritizing the most relevant products and images in digital marketing, or automatically greeting the customer by name.
• Brands are holding detailed, personal information on each consumer, collated across multiple online sources. This gives businesses a great opportunity to get creative and customize content in a way that’s genuinely helpful or intriguing, without being detailed enough to appear intrusive.

3. Blending online and offline

• The overall experience of visiting a store, seeing products first-hand and talking to a human being will always be critical. While advancing technology cannot replace the store or the art of customer service, it does mean that shops need to work harder to keep up.
• Millennials today want a greater level of creative service – product reviews, advice on items and trends – than they experience now. To them, the distinction between online and offline is meaningless, and so retailers are faced with a dual challenge: making the depth and variety of information online available in-store, and extending warm, human customer service into the online realm.
•  This ‘digical’ world of blending the two worlds is fast becoming a huge differentiator for the retailers doing a smart job of it.

The effect of the millennials

• To a digital native, there is no good reason for their experience to be any better or worse in store than it is online. Customers have significantly higher expectations around service and technology in 2016 than ever before. 
• With every passing day, these demanding younger customers get older, and a large number of them potentially move into the target market of major fashion retailers.
• It is an inevitable trend, and when you add the changes happening in the wider online environment, it is likely that fashion retail will come to see 2016 as a watershed year.

Finding retail success: switching from bricks to clicks

                      

Integration of online retail with in-store has become imperative in the world of today.

• The online retail market is a crowded and highly competitive one. There is increased competition from pure online e-tailers which have been set up for digital commerce from the get-go while ‘heritage’ brands are fighting with other multi-channel retailers.
• There have been instances of retail brands transitioning from high street to online around 2012, but their online presence was short-lived. The primary reason for this downfall was that such brands had no unique offering to the market.
• Integration of online and offline sales portals is the major challenge of successfully running a brick & click store. Inventory, in particular, must be kept in sync to prevent overselling or underselling. If a single inventory is drawn from, a non-available item could be accidentally sold, but if separate inventories are used, an available item could needlessly sit in stock.
•  In general, use of a single POS system for both online/offline components of the store is the best solution. It needs to be an automated, real-time system that syncs inventory across all channels if it is to streamline and simplify accounting processes.

So, what are some other important things that retailers need to do to ensure success in the long-term?

Firstly

• such brands need to embed a cultural focus on data. The beauty of e-commerce allows companies to know everyone who comes into the online ‘store’ and can track their behavior as they browse and buy.
• It is also possible to design options to suit each shopper as they browse stores, creating a suitably tailor-made offer for every customer on a one-to-one basis. Retailers in this position should take note from other retailers who have survived similar transitions and learn from their approach in this area. 
• From real-time targeted promotions to improved email-tailoring as well as efficient use of social media, transitioning businesses need to make the most of every shopper touch-point with a clear focus on personalization if they need to have a realistic go at the heels of the more established online retailers in this area. 
• There is a word of caution here though – if there is too much focus on historical data, the shopping recommendations become self-fulfilling. It is crucial to understand the trends and utilize them to predict future purchases, rather than fruitlessly propagating advertising to promote the products the customer was intending to buy in the first place.

Secondly

• They need to ensure they are evolving the brand to remain relevant in today’s world, what with Millenials being a large portion of today’s target consumer. The collapse or closure of many retail stores primarily stemmed from a failure to update stores and adapt to changing customer requirements in the face of competition. 
• For example, understanding its online retail site was outdated and not in tune with the modern shopper. Retailers looking to grow and evolve with the market will need to ensure they refresh and revive established brands while maintaining its unique propositions to survive.

Third

• There must be a readiness to adapt to changing shopper needs and this must be done on a regular basis and with pace. 
• Being agile isn’t about getting it right the first time, rather it is about taking advantage of the fact that the digital space allows retailers to test and in turn learn from mistakes faster. It is imperative that retailers must trial new initiatives, get them live within a matter of weeks, figure out whether or not they are performing, and then adjust accordingly. 
• Those retailers who have successfully straddled the omnichannel delivery system have been able to adapt this ‘fail fast’ mentality in their initial experimentation programme.

Finally 

• switching from bricks to clicks is about getting the basics right. The reasons many e-commerce websites fail is because they make it harder for people to shop. 
• The foundations of the business’ site have to be up-to-date and utilize the latest technologies correctly in order to create a frictionless shopping experience. 
• When homepage banners direct to the wrong product pages or sites are not adapted for mobile platforms, shoppers simply give up and take their business elsewhere.
• There is hope for fallen high-street retailers as they transition online, but to survive the fierce competition and fast-paced e-tail world, they need to look to leaders in the industry (and beyond) for best practice.

8 Technologies that shaped retail Industry in 2016

• While 2015 was dominated by omnichannel retailing and the digital wallet, retailers are now looking at speedy delivery, beacons, RFID tags and other emerging technologies in 2016. 
• ROI is a key factor in the deployment of these innovations, but these technologies are also focused on improving customer satisfaction, especially at a time when retailers, from e-commerce to brick-and-mortar, are losing ground on the biggest disrupter of all: Amazon.

Below, we take a look at eight retail technologies that companies have utilized in 2016.

1. RFID tags

• RFID, or radio-frequency identification, is an inventory tool that more and more retailers have unleashed this year.
• Spanish apparel and accessories retailer Zara began utilizing RFID tags in certain locations in 2014 and plans to complete implementation in all stores by the end of this year. 
• While other retailers like Wal-Mart and J.C. Penney initially failed at wide-scale RFID use, Zara made the project feasible by placing the RFID chips in plastic security tags, which are removed at the point of sale and can be reused.

2. Inventory software

• Retail businesses should keep an eye out for new platforms to turn over inventory more effectively and efficiently. Retailers are always concerned with inventory since that is where their working capital gets tied up. Daily deal and flash sale sites offer one way for retailers to quickly liquidate excess goods.
• Another option is INTURN, a software solution that eliminates the need for retailers to email inventory spreadsheets to each prospective buyer. Instead, buyers and sellers can use the software to view excess inventory, set parameters for the sale, and negotiate offers.

3. Beacons

• More companies are expected to deploy beacon technology in their brick-and-mortar stores as smartphones play an increasingly crucial role in the shopping experience.
• Retailers use location-based beacons with Bluetooth Low Energy to communicate with shoppers who have the store’s mobile app and walk near a beacon placed in the store. 
• They can provide store maps, alert customers to special deals, offer product information or remind them how many loyalty points they have.
• A July 2015 report from BI Intelligence estimated beacon technology would directly influence some $40 billion in U.S. retail sales in 2016, a 10-fold increase from its 2015 projection. Macy’s, Lord & Taylor, Urban Outfitters, and Kohl’s are among major stores that use beacons.

4. No-fuss e-gifting

• There is a huge market for eliminating the hassle involved with gift giving. For example, Loop Commerce offers an e-gifting service where a customer can select a present for a friend, such as a sweater, but leave it up to the recipient to confirm the size, color, and where to ship it. 
• The recipient receives an email and completes the purchase online. That way, gift-givers can still bestow personal items like clothing, shoes, or makeup even if they don’t know the recipient’s mailing address or other details.

5. Easier store pickup

• Apps like Curbside take the convenience of “buy online, pick up in-store” to the next level. Consumers can purchase products from Target or other local stores on their mobile phone and pick up the items later the same day. 
• Curbside can track a user’s location so an employee can have the package ready to go when the customer pulls into the parking lot. The service is available at certain stores in Chicago, the San Francisco Bay Area, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and the New York/New Jersey area.

6. Faster delivery

• 2016 saw an increased focus on technology that enables shorter delivery windows for online and mobile purchases. 
• Amazon offers free same-day delivery on certain items to Prime members in 16 metro areas. 
• There is also Amazon Prime Now, a standalone mobile app that offers free two-hour delivery or $7.99 one-hour delivery of orders from Amazon and local stores and restaurants in certain metro areas.Instacart, Google Express, and others also are expanding their offerings and service areas.

7. Visual product search

• More retailers are getting into the item recognition space with app features from tech companies like Slyce Inc., which allows shoppers to take photos of a product and then find similar items from that particular store.
•  Neiman Marcus, Urban Outfitters, J.C. Penney and Home Depot have all contracted with Slyce.

8. Magic mirrors and smart fitting rooms

• Touchscreen mirrors that allow shoppers to select different fitting room lighting, request different colors or sizes and keep track of what they’ve tried on.
•  Polo Ralph Lauren in November unveiled interactive dressing room mirrors at its flagship store in New York with plans to install them in additional locations soon.

10 Fastest Growing Retail Companies 2016

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Make in India’ campaign driving Semiconductor Industry growth in India

 The ‘Make in India’ campaign was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 24th September 2014 on the backdrop of India’s lowest growth rate in a decade. Global investors debated whether the world’s largest democracy was a risk or an opportunity; whether India was too big to succeed or too big to fail..

For semiconductor and electronics manufacturers, this means a solid and sustainable economic opening and stabilization. In 2014-15, electronics system design and manufacturing (ESDM) market in India was estimated to be around $90 billion, of which around 65-70 per cent of the demand was met through imports.

 As of today, the industry expects the country to reduce its dependence on electronics imports by almost 15 percentage points to around 50 per cent by 2016-17. While the demand for electronics hardware in India is projected to increase to $400 billion by 2020, the estimated domestic production is only estimated to rise to $104 billion, creating a gap of $296 billion, which has to be met through imports….

Some notable developments in the semiconductor sector

·         The Indian Government is finally investing $10 billion to set up two computer-chip manufacturing facilities in a bid to achieve the target set for zero import of electronics into the country by 2020. The two approved projects are led by Jaiprakash Associates Ltd, which is teaming up with International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) and Israel-based TowerJazz, to set up a Rs.29,000 crore unit in Greater Noida. Also, Hindustan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. has partnered with French-Italian electronics and semiconductor maker STMicroelectronics NV and Malaysia-based wafer manufacturer Silterra, to set up a Rs.34,000-crore facility in Prantij, near Gandhinagar. $400 million has also been set aside by the government to build a microprocessor design unit to cater to the growing demands for mobile devices.

·         AMD, the second largest computer chip manufacturer has partnered with Hindustan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (HSMC) to fabricate chips in India. AMD has not previously owned any chip-manufacturing plants elsewhere in the world.

·         Panasonic, GE, Bosch and Tejas Networks, amongst other leading multinationals, have announced investments worth Rs. 6,500 crore in the electronic, telecom, automotive and medical manufacturing sectors in India. The government plans to increase GDP growth rates and take the share of manufacturing in India’s GDP mix from 17 per cent at present to 25 per cent in 10 years, and generate jobs for the 12-15 million hopefuls who join the workforce every year.

·         NXP Semiconductors have introduced two new technology platforms, WaRP7 and Hexiwear, in an approach that is contributive to the Make-in-India programme. These two platforms, primarily focused on the Internet of Things (IoT) and wearables segment, will enable faster product creation and have all the elements of motherboard, sensors, electronics and software for the country’s electronic system design and manufacturing (ESDM) industry to build their products. The startup ecosystem will receive a major boost as NXP’s new platforms will enable entrepreneurs, startups and even SMEs to focus on critical things where they can add value. From the current level of $5.6 billion and 200 million connected units, the IoT market in India is expected to touch $15 billion by 2020 with 2.7 billion connected devices with the help of such innovative rationales.

·         The government, in consultation with semiconductor industry, has increased focus on the ESDM sector in the last few years. Some of the initiatives outlined in the National Electronics policy and the National Telecom policy are already in the process of implementation, such as Preferential Market Access (PMS), Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC) and Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS). With the implementation of fabrication capabilities

10 fastest growing software companies 2016

 

We are happy to present the 2016 issue of The Silicon Review's  10 Fastest Growing Software Companies that features some of the most promising companies in today's global tech platform. Over the years, we have featured several leading organizations in our listing. But this issue is special because we have featured a lot of young companies. 
The Silicon Review identifies ‘10 Fastest-Growing Software Companies’. Through meticulous analysis of market impact, leadership skills, product values, client satisfaction and future growth aspects of these 10 companies