Retailers need to adopt digital transformation strategies and keep pace with the rising customer demands to stay ahead of the competition. Customers now demand a more engaging and personalised in-store experience, pushing retailers to consider new digital transformation and Artificial Intelligence tools that can help them acquire, engage and retain their customers efficiently, said Esam Mahmoud, Senior Vice President, Small and Medium Business, Etisalat.
He was addressing an Etisalat forum titled ‘Digital Transformation in Retail’ on 18th September at the W Dubai Hotel, The Palm. The event, which attracted a large number of representatives from the retail sector, highlighted how digital transformation currently influences the retail sector and disrupts the entire ecosystem, including customer engagement, communication, collaboration and retail analytics.
In his keynote, Mahmoud stressed: “Etisalat works closely with SMBs in the UAE by investing our resources in understanding their requirements to help meet their business needs. Our commitment to empower SMBS in the retail sector is in line with Etisalat's strategy of ‘Driving the digital future to enable societies’ helping them adopt digitalised processes in their business operations.”
Mahmoud also highlighted the importance of customer experience, where he quoted industry statistics that revealed 96 percent of customers believe customer service plays an important role in determining brand loyalty, while 80 percent consider speed, convenience, and friendly service as mostly important.
He cited retailers' approaches towards digital transformation, namely cashier-less technology, Big Data analytics, Augmented Reality, omnichannel, immersive experience, digital signage, visual search and more.
Etisalat currently provides a wide range of digital solutions and services for SMBs in the retail sector, including video-surveillance-as-a-service (cameras and in-store analytics), omnichannel, online marketing services, digital signage, and online payments, among others.
Source: Etisalat Press Release