“Like Mark Twain’s demise, some reports of the death of the traditional “bricks & mortar” retailer have been greatly exaggerated. However, many of todays’ most prominent brands have been unable to transform their businesses in order to compete with online behemoths like Amazon, and in the same timeframe, some of the UK’s biggest household names have begun to disappear from the UK high street, leaving many store fronts empty.  

Today, there are also examples of companies who have embraced digital transformation to change the customer experience and through a combination of technology and forward thinking business strategy, have hoped to see rapid growth.

Sainsbury’s CEO Mike Coupe, for example, recently stated the company is accelerating its investment in technology due to a Q1 sales dip, thereby driving the conversation back towards ‘technology as the enabler’ for profitability. The Co-op has also revealed its biggest digital transformation project to date, with plans to launch pay-in-aisle mobile payments that will help deliver growth and a brand that will result in stronger customer communities, and potentially, loyalty.”

The article: Retailers will only retain relevance through digital transformation