Delivering the connected shopping experience: How Microsoft and Avanade are reimagining retail | Azure Blog and Updates

This weblog put up has been co-authored by Charlie Lagervik, Principal Program Supervisor.

Shoppers right now demand flexibility and comfort in how they buy all the things from groceries to residence items. Along with buying on-line, they’re more and more utilizing cell units and different digital providers to make in-store buying extra environment friendly and handy. In response, retailers are striving to reimagine their bodily retailer footprints to drive new and improved buying experiences.

Main retailers are quickly growing new options to ship a retail expertise that drives loyalty, each on-line and in shops.

Widespread challenges to implementing profitable options embrace lengthy deployment occasions for customized functions, integration of disparate level options, and scaling new options throughout bodily shops in a well timed method.

Optimizing in-store experiences with Avanade Clever Retailer

We just lately collaborated with Avanade to create a modular resolution known as Avanade Clever Retailer that helps retailers overcome these hurdles. Avanade focuses on offering digital and cloud providers, enterprise options, and design-led experiences utilizing Microsoft applied sciences. This resolution, constructed on Microsoft Azure, integrates bodily and digital in-store use circumstances and permits retailers to optimize the client expertise throughout channels.

Retailers can choose from pre-defined Azure choices, together with out-of-stock detection, digital signage, and digital queue administration. Avanade’s Clever Retailer allows repeatable, scalable in-store experiences delivered in a modular manner and likewise gives a managed providers possibility. With this mannequin, retailers can swap providers on or off as their wants fluctuate over time throughout completely different retailer places.

The center of the Avanade resolution is a digital twin—a digital illustration of a bodily retailer setting, up to date in real-time—that permits up-to-date visibility, seamless automation, and using information to boost shopper experiences all through the shopping for journey. In consequence, retailers can meet a number of omnichannel use circumstances, together with conventional buying, on-line buying and supply, or on-line buying and curbside pickup.

Utilizing Azure for omni-channel optimization helps retailers ship compelling model experiences throughout units and channels, perceive preferences extra deeply, and craft gross sales gives primarily based on wants. Information throughout all bodily and digital apps and channels turns into an enter for analytics, with providers corresponding to Azure Synapse Analytics and managed databases that provide help to get rid of information silos to speed up insights. You should utilize this information to modernize apps and internet experiences, bringing the ability of AI to construct ads that resonate with prospects. You too can optimize in-store experiences with a centralized administration platform, and deploy internet functions with excessive availability and auto-scaling, with out the necessity to handle bodily infrastructure.

Swedish grocery retailer ICA-Roslagstull is utilizing Avanade Clever Retailer to gather buying information from sensors on cameras and cooler and freezer compressors. That information, collected on Azure, is then despatched in real-time to retailer staff’ smartwatches or different cell units.

Armed with this data, retailer staff can instantly see if prospects want help or if cabinets want stocking. This presents a greater total expertise by shortening wait occasions and making certain correct stock, whereas additionally encouraging buyers to spend extra time within the retailer and have interaction with the model each digitally and bodily.

Driving a customized, related buying expertise

By implementing Clever Retailer options, retailers can create a related and curated expertise for patrons, providing personalization and product suggestions whereas gaining real-time stock insights and stock optimization. With these capabilities, retail corporations can differentiate the buying expertise, convey their model to life, and improve effectivity and profitability.

To be taught extra in regards to the Avanade Clever Retailer, browse Azure Market options or contact the group at intelligentstore@avanade.com. To be taught extra about cloud adoption, try the Azure for retail web page.