Hundreds of social workers and volunteers are working round the clock, providing essentials to those affected by the unprecedented rainfall
The value of the global connected retail market is estimated to reach $82.31 billion by the end of 2025, a report by Transparency Market Research (TMR) said on Monday.
According to analysts, the worldwide boom in the connected retail market, which was just $19.46 billion in 2017, is being driven by the pandemic.
During the forecast period of 2017 to 2025, the demand in the global connected retail market is projected to increase at an impressive compound annual growth rate of 19.8 per cent. But there are factors holding back growth that impact retailers.
While a post-Covid-19 world is expected to recover more slowly than it did after the 2008–2009 global financial crisis, e-commerce is the economic sweet spot as brands and consumers rush online, according to a report by Shopify.
Nearly 150 million people shopped online for the first time in the pandemic, and the number of ecommerce buyers will only continue to rise, said the report.
A recent Mastercard report said that roughly 20-30 per cent of the Covid-related shift to digital globally is expected to be permanent.
The Gulf region’s booming regional online shopping market is expected to grow by more than a third to reach a gross value of $30 billion this year, according to a report from Wamda and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The e-commerce market in the region was worth $22 billion by the end of 2020, boosted by online shoppers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE.
The three countries form 80 per cent of the region’s overall e-commerce market, according to the study. In Saudi Arabia, the market volume is expected to reach $8.2 billion by 2024.
Reflecting expanded consumer choice, Mastercard’s analysis shows that consumers worldwide are making purchases at a greater number of websites and online marketplaces than before. Residents in countries like Italy and Saudi Arabia are buying from 33 per cent more online stores, on average, followed closely by Russia (29 per cent), the UK (22 per cent) and the UAE (21 per cent).
The various e-commerce and virtual retail stores that cater to different product segments, will eventually merge into larger connected virtual hypermarkets or digital marketplace eco-systems, experts at a virtual conference, ‘Connected Store of the Future’ said.
Panellists at the conference were of the view that physical retail stores are here to stay for a longer period, despite the digital transformation and the growth of online shopping.
Customer convenience and experience will determine the success of retail stores as they are becoming more informed and therefore, they would dictate where they want to buy groceries or other commodities from, depending on the experience and convenience.
Organised by Images RetailME in partnership with Honeywell, the digital retail conference, was addressed by Piyush Kumar Chowhan, group CIO, Lulu Group International; Ashish Panjabi, COO, Jacky’s Retail; Miroslav Kafedzhiev, vice president and general manager, Honeywell Safety and Productivity Solutions; Phillip Smith, group head of Digital, Kamal Osman Jamjoom Group and Sayed Habib, director of Business Development, Franchise and E-Commerce, Danube Home.
According to panelists, the retailers now have a better understanding of the customers’ needs using customer data analytics in order to understand the requirements of the consumer better. “We are in a unique phase of retail, that there are at least six generation of retail customers who are shopping today. The retailers create an experience which is unique to each one of them.”
— issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com
Hundreds of social workers and volunteers are working round the clock, providing essentials to those affected by the unprecedented rainfall
The floodwaters spared nothing, soaking their furniture, rendering household appliances useless, and destroying the newly-purchased school books
Second-placed Liverpool remain three points behind Arsenal, who have a vastly superior goal difference
The in-form Italian will move to within 330points of World No 1 Djokovic if he wins his fourth trophy of 2024 at the Madrid Open
The King, 88, had undergone gallbladder surgery in 2020
Delhi posted 224-4 courtesy of a 113-run stand between Pant (88) and fellow left-hander Axar Patel, who hit 66
The move is seen as part of Ukraine's efforts to reinforce its army as soldiers struggle to hold positions against Russia
The Jamaican currently holds world records in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m with times of 9.58s, 19.19s and 36.84s respectively