The Top Retail Tech Challenges (& Solutions)

There’s so much hype around the potential benefits of generative AI, and the use of machine learning for growth, and the need for tech innovation in the retail sector. But to embrace tech solutions and innovations, retailers have to feel confident that the solution will meet its needs, provide ROI, and be used by the team.

I saw some research from Total Retail that identified the top challenges retailers face when implementing a new technology into their business.

I took a closer look at these objections and decided to unravel these burdens so you can find success – in context of retail competitive intelligence. So, if you’ve been on the fence about investing in a competitive intel platform… this is for you…

By the way, have questions about competitive intelligence use cases or processes? Send an email to [email protected] & we’ll get you answers!

Challenge: Proving ROI

Solution

What’s the return on investment for a new vendor? Unfortunately, it seems like not enough retailers can justify that question. 43% of retail respondents said this is a top challenge for implementing new tech. How do you advocate for something if you don’t understand the value?

Here’s the thing… providing a ROI should be a key objective for solution providers.

At Bungee Tech, our customers are increasing their catalog size, seeing more sales / conversions, and saving in inventory write-offs.

One retail customer (in revenue management at one of NRF’s top 100 retailers) said that for the past 5 years, Bungee Tech has been “synonymous with reliable, consistent competitive intelligence data and insights which are imperative for driving growth.” Another retailer (the VP of pricing for a popular pet retailer) said that Bungee Tech is their trusted competitive intelligence platform and it’s helped them “price products competitively 24/7 and increase selection YoY.”

Challenge: Integrating with existing technology

Solution

75% of retail respondents said “integrating with existing technology” was the top challenge when considering new solutions. 

With Bungee Tech competitive intelligence, you don’t have to worry about system integration. 

1. We ingest any data and harmonize it.
2. We’ll customize integrations based on your needs.
3. We can deliver data in any format you’re looking for.

Challenge: Training staff, employee adoption, ongoing support

Solution

More than half (51%) of retailers cited “training staff” is a challenge, 33% listed “employee awareness/adoption” as a challenge, and 22% of said “lack of vendor support” is an issue with implementing new tech. 

To overcome training, tech adoption, and support challenges, I recommend these steps:

1. Ask your retail solution provider for customer references. A current customer can give you insights on the entire process – from training, to user engagement, to support and consultation.
2. Get your team excited about the new solution! Provide information and be clear about the process. Explain how this solution will benefit the team and the company. 
3. Celebrate the wins. Yes, there’s a learning curve with new systems or data. No, the results won’t happen overnight. Nonetheless, you should recognize your team’s training work and use of the data.

Bungee Tech works closely with our retail customers on fulfilling their data needs. We get excited to solve new business challenges and work with you to capture any competitive data that will help you drive growth.

A few other points I’d like to highlight from the report:

+ 53% of retailers are prioritizing solutions that help them efficiently manage inventory. Consumer demand for omnichannel shopping makes inventory management systems critical.

Bungee Tech POV:

Competitive intelligence helps retailers with assortment gap management and out of stock detection. Your competitive intelligence program should help you…

• Determine the right prices for the right products.
• Capture out of stock information.
• Have a real-time view on stock availability.
• Identify gaps – in flavor, product size, or location.
• Quantify potential revenue impact for new products.

Assortment and availability are critical aspects in building loyalty. Retailers should look at assortment and availability information across channels and locations. There’s a fuzzy line between in-store aisles and digital shelves, so retailers need omnichannel visibility to optimize performance.

+ Retailers are most excited by generative AI and will likely increase their spending there. Many in the retail industry are still learning what business benefits are derived from artificial intelligence.

Bungee Tech POV: 

First, we highly encourage retailers to look for retail-specific artificial intelligence solutions. An industry-specific model generates meaningful results.

Bungee Tech has obsessed over the quality of retail-specific data for years. We’ve invested our efforts in building an efficient labelling mechanism, people, and processes to crate high quality labelled data. We’re measurement driven and have created a retail-aware language model that can do retail industry Q&A use cases 3x better than the industry’s leading generalist LLMs.

We’d love to get into more details with you if you’re interested! (Just reach out)

At the end of the day, you want to choose the best technology provider for your organization. Get answers to your questions so that you meet your goals.

When it comes to competitive intelligence, retailers should ask about data interruptions, accuracy, validation, scalability, customized reporting, and product matching. Let’s set up a free trial so you can see your data in action