Nov 16, 2022

In today’s modern commerce world, speed is a vital asset. We’re not talking about how fast you deliver products to customers though. It’s your time to market that you need to be investing in.

Consumer Trends Require Fast Actions

Consumer trends are changing faster than ever. Seemingly overnight, a product can go viral on social media, and customer demand skyrockets. In these scenarios, it’s often the case that the retailers that can respond the fastest win. They pick up those trend-driven sales before customers move on to something else.

However, your ability to do this comes down to the technology platforms that your business uses. Even adding a new product to your website can involve a process. If you’re using a traditional e-commerce platform, you may have to update the entire website just to make this change.

By comparison, if you have a composable commerce platform, you will be able to change only the select things you need to, allowing you to go to market faster.

If your business taps into consumer trends in any way, then you need to invest in systems that allow you to make changes quickly.

By putting speed into your retail strategy, you are not only better equipped for the fast pace of modern commerce, but you may also find that you can drive wider efficiency and reduce bureaucracy in your business.

Speed is Vital for All Aspects of Your Business

It’s not just emerging product trends that your business needs to be able to respond to. There are also far bigger shifts happening in consumer buying behaviors and expectations that your business can’t ignore.

Some of these changes will become the default for the way we shop in the future, just as e-commerce has become an integral part of the retail experience.

Again, speed is a factor. Is your business set up in a way that lets you identify these trends as they emerge? Are you capturing data that allows you to find patterns in behavior that require you to make improvements or changes?

Is useful information shared across the business in a timely manner? If your e-commerce team notices an uptick in searches on the website, are they telling your store teams that customers are looking for a certain product, enabling them to merchandise it more prominently? Are customer services aware so that they can respond to support requests? Is your social media team highlighting that you have this product that customers are looking for?

Setting up these lines of communication is vital. Trends can start in different places so one part of your business may be aware of something before others. Therefore, your teams must get into the habit of quickly sharing information, preventing missed sales opportunities.

Another aspect is autonomy. How much are your teams allowed to do on their own and to what extent do they need approval?

If every change needs to be approved by one or more layers of management, you will likely find that your ability to act at speed is limited. As such, you should look at your business and decide where the line between approval and autonomy lies.

For example, you may be happy for individual stores to independently change their merchandising displays and which products are most prominently featured based on evidence of increased sales and searches (both in-store and online).

You might be happy for your e-com team to change the products featured on your homepage if they see an increase in searches for particular items. Many of these changes require minimal effort to make and can easily be reverted or changed again if necessary.

By putting speed into your retail strategy, you are not only better equipped for the fast pace of modern commerce, but you may also find that you can drive wider efficiency and reduce bureaucracy in your business.

Discover the four other big areas your retail business should be focusing on in our new checklist. Download your copy here.