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Dear everyone,
First of all let me wish you all a very happy Diwali! I hope that the upcoming year proves to be progressive and prosperous for your family as well as your business. Let’s also hope that this festive season also marks the change that we all have been waiting for for so long.
After a lull of nearly eight months, finally we can afford to heave a sigh of relief as things are slowly begging to get better for all of us in the retail industry. At the same time, I am sure that we all have also witnessed how drastically the traditional format of retail has been overhauled in the last few months.
Although the worst seems to be over, we are still in uncharted territory and businesses will need to be much more careful about how they approach the future. As is apparent, consumer sentiments have changed in massive proportions. Moreover, while we are still struggling to reorganize how we run operationsin this age of social distancing, consumers’ expectation is snowballing by the day.
The big question now is — how can businesses remain productive, be safe for employees as well as consumers and at the same time device innovative engagement strategies that find relevance in the new normal?
The answer lies in a new and hybrid retail model that finds relevance in the New Normal – Phygital retail!In the New Normal, the line between online and offline shopping has completely blurred and businesses are compelled to align their processes around customer convenience. With fewer opportunities to make sales face-to-face, businesses will have to bank on cutting edge technology to provide personal, on-demand and added-value support to customers from afar.
In this issue of IMAGES Business of Fashion, we sketch out how fashion retail businesses can evolve quickly and converge all their channels to bridge the gap between the online and offline worlds so that they can physically ensure consumer engagement from a distance.
With a slew of well researched articles and expert opinions, the issue delves deep into insights that brands and retailers need for adopting a sound Phygital strategy that can preserve the heart andsoul of physical retail while adopting the agility and intelligence of the digital world.
I hope you find the issue meaningful and enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed collating it. Cheers!!
