When the digital wave goes deeper and deeper, especially when the impact of digital technology on the retail industry becomes comprehensive, people’s understanding of digital retail has also reached a new height. What used to be thought of as digital retail, often empowering merchants, is now taking on more of a new set of characteristics. These new features not only make digital retail begin to break away from the restrictions of the Internet model, but also elevate people’s cognition of digital retail to a new height.
Recognizing that such a radical transformation is taking place in digital retail not only helps us understand what digital retail really is, but also opens up a whole new path for us to take the development of digital retail to a whole new level. Both leading e-commerce platforms and SaaS providers are focusing their attention on new areas.
Starting from this, the development of digital retail will completely bid farewell to the development stage that only takes traffic as the ultimate pursuit, and truly embark on the development road of returning to the industry. When such a development model matures, the usual digital retail we have seen in the past may eventually cease to exist and be replaced by new digital retail players and new digital retail models. Therefore, the development of digital retail and even the whole retail industry will truly enter a new era.
Under the big change, digital retail has adjusted sharply
The present age is in the midst of a cycle of great change. Almost everyone involved is undergoing a deep and radical adjustment and change. The same is true for digital retail. The failure of the traditional mode, the failure of the traditional playing method and the dislocation of the traditional supply all bring the development of digital retail into a great change and adjustment.
Traffic as the ultimate pursuit of the model completely come to an end. When the era of e-commerce comes to an end, we see the emergence and rise of a series of new retail concepts represented by digital retail and smart retail. I have to say, these new retail concepts are really impressive. The way players play, to some extent, also hit the pain point of the development of the industry, to meet some needs of businesses. From live delivery to digital marketing, and then to private domain operation, almost every new concept and new game of digital retail has solved some pain points and problems of merchants to some extent.
However, if we look deeper into these new explorations and experiments of digital retail players, we will find that whether it is the re-creation of new models, whether it is the re-disruption of gameplay, it is almost always the ultimate pursuit of traffic. Yes, digital retail players have been using these seemingly new ways to solve traffic problems, and have been using these seemingly leading models to help merchants get traffic.
Undeniably, these development modes, which take traffic as the ultimate pursuit, have indeed promoted the development of brand merchants to a certain extent. However, if we only deal in traffic, if we only pursue traffic as the ultimate pursuit, instead of looking for new ways to develop digital retail from a deeper and broader perspective, then the development of digital retail may eventually come to a dead end of e-commerce.
The reconstruction of people, goods and fields cannot really solve the problem. When the era of e-commerce is fading away, players will pay more attention to the reconstruction of the three elements of people, goods and field. They try to meet the needs of users and solve the pain points of users through such a way. Although the reconstruction of the three elements of people, goods and field has indeed brought about fundamental changes in the retail industry, and spawned a series of new retail species, the reconstruction of people, goods and field is still only changed under the original elements and process, rather than really starting from the more upstream of the retail industry. It can be imagined that the development of digital retail will still come to a dead end when the freshness brought by the reconstruction of people, goods and fields is no longer available.
According to the author’s understanding, the so-called reconstruction of the three elements of people, goods and market is still the same as that of e-commerce. That is, on the basis of not changing the original elements of retail industry, more new ways and methods of development can be found through the reconstruction of the relationship, connotation and process of the three elements of people, goods and market. It should be noted that what consumers are ultimately faced with is the product. If only the elements outside the product are restructured without really changing the product itself, then even the hype will turn out to be a flash in the pan.
When the reconstruction of the three elements of people, goods and field cannot get new dividends again, digital retail players must focus their development eyes on new fields again. Only through new models and new methods can we fundamentally solve the dilemma faced by digital retail, and find a new development breakthrough when the demand of both product and consumption side is undergoing drastic changes.
The technology base dominated by Internet technology is facing collapse. Looking back at the development process of digital retail, we can clearly feel that no matter how many new models, no matter how many new methods, there is always the reality that is still confined to the scope of Internet technology. Under the background that the dividends of the Internet are constantly being cleared and the technology of the Internet is constantly twinning, it is always unstable to build the base of digital retail only with Internet technology.
Whether it is live delivery, digital marketing, or even private domain operation, in essence, in fact, with the help of Internet technology means to find new solutions to digital retail. It has to be said that these new ways and solutions derived from Internet technology can indeed meet the needs of the development of digital retail to a certain extent. However, if the Internet technology is only used as the base, the functions and roles of digital retail cannot be played perfectly under the background of new technological changes at both the industrial and consumer ends.
When more and more players, more and more processes and links begin to appear new technology figure, when new technology gradually mature and landing, digital retail players, in such a brand new change, also need to see the inevitability of their own change. By proactively embracing new technologies, digital retail players need to find the right way to grow. Only by truly building a new development model based on new technologies can the precarious digital retail building avoid the danger of collapse.
Right now, we’re in the middle of a big change. In such a big revolution, there will be a profound and comprehensive change in every aspect of our life. The same is true for digital retail. Truly realize such a brand new change is happening in digital retail, and find the development of digital retail new ways and new methods, the development of digital retail can enter a new stage of development.
Back to Digital: A New direction for digital Retail
At a time when the market environment of digital retail and digital psychic is undergoing a profound and comprehensive change, it is obvious that the players of digital retail who simply develop in the traditional way will find themselves in a new dilemma and a dead end. For digital retail, going back to digital and using digital, rather than just focusing on the Internet, may be the new direction.
Find a new position by digitization. When players in digital retail define themselves in terms of the Internet, their focus is only on traffic, marketing and other Internet-like directions. As a result, all people’s attempts are unable to break away from the Internet model of development, can not get rid of the Internet model of development dependence.
When the market is facing great adjustment, especially in the context of the rising trend of digitalization, digital retail players also need to redefine themselves with digitalization and find new ways of their own development. When they position themselves digitally, digital retail players will no longer just focus on traffic acquisition, but start to focus more on the efficient connection between the industrial end and the consumption end. Digital retail players will focus less on marketing tricks and more on meeting the new needs of the industry and consumer end. Digital retail players will no longer just stay at the end of the industry, but more tentacles into the development of the industry in every process and link.
At this time, the positioning of digital retail players will no longer be a platform-based, centralized existence, but a deep into the industry, deep into the hearts of consumers, and truly achieve a deep integration with the industry and consumers. This is the most original meaning of digital, this is the advent of digital era for digital retail players to give new positioning.
Digital to build new relationships in retail. Only the reconstruction of the three elements of man, goods and field, without really changing the relationship between the three elements, such development will not make any breakthrough. To solve this problem, what we need to do is to reconstruct the relationship between the three elements of human, goods and field in a digital way, or even to transform the three elements of human, goods and field from their independent and separate existence into an integrated existence.
When digitalization reconstructs the new relationship between the internal elements of the retail industry and even changes the internal elements of the retail industry, the development of digital retail has really entered a new stage of development. For digital retail players, to achieve this goal, it is necessary to use digital means and power.
When digitalization establishes a new relationship with the retail industry, when digitalization creates a new form of the retail industry, the development of digital retail players has entered a new stage of development. For digital retail players, this is actually a new direction, with this direction as the ultimate pursuit, the development of digital retail into a new phase of development.
Digital to open up a new form of retail. When new changes begin to come, new forms of business will also be derived and emerge. For the players of digital retail, how to use the digital way to open the new form of retail industry, how to use the digital mode to create an innovative new model of retail, undoubtedly become a new direction of development.
According to the author’s understanding, the new form of retail in the digital age should be a kind of virtual and real integration, supply and demand integration of a new existence. Under such a new form of retail, the functions and attributes of traditional retail will undergo a deep and thorough reform. It can even be said that traditional retail is not just selling goods, but more of a role of information transmission.
For digital retail players, how to deeply transform the retail industry so that they can take on the role of information transmission can truly bring their own development into a new stage of development. It is foreseeable that in the future, who can use digital means to reach a new form of retail, who will be in the future development of the process of the first opportunity.
conclusion
When the digital wave starts, the digital retail industry is undergoing a profound and comprehensive adjustment. Only by really finding ways and means to cope with such adjustment, and really finding new development direction under such adjustment, can we really jump out of the vicious circle of Internet development and enter into a new stage of development. When we do put these new directions in place, digital retail as we know it may not be what it used to be.