Hybrid retail has been a buzz phrase in the industry for some time. And while for some it brings to mind elaborate web stores in the VR metaverse, for others the hybrid model is happening right here, right now, and in real life. Here’s why:

Customers Are Driving the Agenda

Shopping habits have irrevocably changed. Customers now want to both browse and close the deal how, where, and when they choose. Retailers are being forced to consider new operating models that pivot between online and in-store and to offer multiple fulfilment possibilities so the customer experience can become more personal and tailored in a digital world. With an unprecedented amount of digital retail possibilities, it’s essential to become the trusted, digital store next door.

Chatbot, live chat, and real-time messaging functions are becoming commonplace as retailers seek to reflect the real-time, personalised store experience to entice buyers to close an online deal. Virtual reality and augmented reality technologies are rising to the fore, with car manufacturers leading the way in leveraging AR both in-store and online to drive sales conversions and increase on-sales.

From the grocery retailer offering click-and-collect or the fast fashion brand providing browse-online / try-in-store services to the luxury fashion and beauty brands offering personal in-store shopping appointments pre-booked online, the lines between traditional and online retail are blurring.

Retailers Are Striving for Sustainability Goals

Almost every retailer now has a commitment to achieve sustainability within their organisation. For a long time, sustainability was evaluated solely in terms of product life cycle and supply chain, but retailers are now starting to consider how their IT infrastructure can make a positive contribution to their overall sustainability.

Services such as click-and-collect dramatically reduce reliance of packing and delivery services, for example. Browsing online then pre-booking a personal shopping slots negates the need to pick, pack and send purchased goods — or unpack, clean, and restock returned goods. There is a new recognition that integrating the right technologies can create efficiencies at both logistical and personnel levels.

IT teams may long have called for the adoption of flexible cloud services to reduce redundancies in their datacentres — but now the industry is acknowledging at C-level the potential for cloud technologies to reduce costs, simplify workflows, improve efficiencies and ultimately deliver a better customer experience.

Employees Need Seamless, Real-Time, Multi-Platform Access

As customers start to expect a hybrid experience, so too do employees — and HR teams are asking the question, “How do we enable someone from day one?” With an increasingly dispersed workforce and an ever-more complex blend of solutions and data sources, there is a growing need for employees to have fast, seamless access to information, tools and tasks in one centralised location.

Retailers are now looking to cloud solutions to allow employees to collaborate with colleagues easily, share data and content quickly, and communicate with customers on multiple channels, whether that’s in person, online, or via email, phone, messaging apps, or social media. There’s also a widespread consensus that to enable employees effectively, solutions cannot be bound by device type.

The Big Question: Are You Ready?

It’s clear that there’s huge potential for hybrid retail to improve the customer and employee experience, increase efficiencies, and deliver sustainability gains. But in an industry that has long relied on bolting new apps, software, and services to legacy systems, harnessing the opportunities presented by new and ever-changing technologies may prove a challenge.

Retailers must ask themselves: Do we have the right foundation to deliver this in a secure manner? Is our infrastructure flexible enough to scale out, automatically and autonomously, to handle sudden load changes, such as if there’s a web security incident or if our stores need to close again? With cyberattack a real and ever-present threat, are we doing enough to protect our systems, our apps, and our data? And of course, when we’re ready to open our fancy new web store in the metaverse will we have everything ready to support it back in the real world?

Find out more about rebuilding retail with a digital foundation.