Accenture-A-New-Era-For-Retail

What retailers and their customers are doing todayLog InLog InCustomers use cloud-basedsocial tools to shop on theirown terms.Many cloud-based tools are availableto help retailers allow customers toshop on their terms, through thechannels they choose and with theinformation they control.RaaSCase in point: Gigya 21 provides acloud-based social login tool that lets aretailer’s customers log in with a socialnetwork identity (e.g, from Facebook,Google+ or Twitter) to purchaseproducts. Customers who log in withsocial identities often purchase andspend significantly more on averagethan other online shoppers.$PowerReviews 22 offers a ready-made,cloud-based rating and reviewsservice that leverages social media.By integrating its ratings-and-reviewssolution with Facebook, PowerReviewsmultiplies the influence of brandadvocates and builds a community oftrusted friends and followers around aretailer’s website, brand, and products.Reevoo 23 is another example of a cloudbased customer review and conversationapplication in the cloud.SCANSALERetailers are using cloudbasedtools to engageRaaScustomers.Case in point: Burberry’simplementation of Burberry Chat onSalesforce’s Chatter platform. Salesteams had noticed that large-framedmale customers were dissatisfied withone of the retailer’s suits. This newswas passed quickly through Chatterto the design team, which made quickalterations to the product. 24 Anotherexample of a retailer adopting cloudbasedtechnology to engage customersis Walmart. Early in 2012, Walmartlaunched its Get on the Shelf contest,allowing anyone in the U.S. to submitonline video pitches for an inventionor a request for Walmart to carry anew product. The winners, selected bythe public, were to be invited to selltheir products on Walmart.com. 25$These examples show how technologyhas allowed direct customer feedbackinto the buying department. However,these incremental changes do not yetdemonstrate how cloud tools can beused to handle the key merchandisingfunctions (e.g., deciding which productsgo into which stores or how much ofeach item the buyer should purchase).SCAN18