The combination of retail and digital is becoming deep and comprehensive. This is not only the inevitable development of retail industry, but also a trend under the digital economy. In this context, it is the key for every digital retail player to find the right way and method to combine retail industry with digitalization, and bring the development of retail industry to a new stage.

In the past, when it comes to digital retail players, the common mode is still dominated by empowerment and transformation. That is to say, the so-called digital retail players are just outsiders and bystanders who do not participate in the actual operation process of digital retail, but only enable and transform the B-end users of the retail industry. In the final analysis, or traffic thinking.

Facts have proved that when the dividend of traffic still exists, such a business model still has a certain space for development, but when the dividend of traffic is no longer, such a seemingly correct digital retail model begins to encounter more and more difficulties and problems.

As more and more players begin to participate in the actual operation of the retail industry, as more and more players begin to take the initiative to become part of the retail industry, a new model of digital retail is emerging. Perhaps, such a new model of digital retail is the right digital retail model in the real sense. With this as the beginning, digital retail can truly enter a new stage of development.

The boundaries of traffic are closing

In the traditional age, in the Internet age, and even in the digital age that has arrived, we are still quite obsessed with traffic. A direct result of this obsession is that when we look at the retail industry, when we look for new ways to develop the retail industry, we always look at it from the perspective of traffic, and eventually bring ourselves into the traffic cycle.

Almost all actions are for the purpose of traffic, and almost all transformations take traffic as the entry point. Although such a mode can obtain certain development dividends, it is bound to lead its own development into the vicious circle of development dominated by traffic only to explore the new paradigm of retail industry transformation. Look at the live stream with goods, look at the division of public and private domain traffic, look at online and offline get through, all revealing a strong flow atmosphere. On the surface, we do propose many new retail models. In fact, these so-called new models of retail are still hesitating and wandering in the sky of the Internet.

In order to truly bring the development of retail industry into a new stage, especially to bring digital retail into its own development track, the first thing we should do is to bridge the boundary of traffic, break the barriers of traffic, and truly bring the development of retail industry into a chaotic state of development. In such a state, each individual is a part of the retail industry, each individual is playing a different function and role.

When the boundaries of traffic are gradually bridged, especially when new business models are incubated under this trend, the development of digital retail will truly enter a new stage of development. Today, more and more players are starting to think and explore their position from a retail perspective, rather than defining themselves as an existence constructed within the old traffic framework.

In this new stage, every process, link and element related to digital retail is a participant. In this case, new relationships are being constructed, new systems are being formed. With this as the beginning, the development of retail industry can really enter a brand new stage. And this is the reason why digital retail will enter its own development cycle of the key.

The nature of technology is changing

One of the most fundamental reasons why digital retail has become digital retail is the change in the nature of the underlying technology. Similarly, the digital retail we have seen in the past is just a cloak of the Internet, just a cloak of the Internet model, and one of the important reasons is that its underlying technology has not changed fundamentally.

It can be said that digital retail cannot undergo profound and thorough evolution in any case under the background that the underlying technology nature has not developed and changed fundamentally. This is the fundamental reason why digital retail has not really become digital retail.

Fortunately, the technology we see in digital retail is undergoing a profound and radical change. Whether it is big data, cloud computing, blockchain, artificial intelligence, or even VR\AR, a profound change is taking place.

If there is a summary of this change, digital technology replacing Internet technology as the main driver of digital retail is undoubtedly one of the most important aspects.

Unlike Internet technology, which only constructs a business form opposite to the real economy — virtual economy form, digital technology explores and practices the evolution of digital retail from the perspective of deep integration, and seeks a deep integration of virtual economy and real economy.

When the nature of technology begins to change, what we see is that the words platform and traffic, which were common in the Internet era in the past, begin to disappear and are replaced by new elements, new forms and new infrastructure. When these new elements, new elements and new infrastructure become the leading role of digital retail and the development of digital retail, Can truly enter a new stage of development.

It is foreseeable that in the future, we will also see more new technologies in digital retail, especially the maturity and landing of more digital technologies. When the digital technology has become the dominant digital retail, and when the digital technology has really constructed a set of brand-new digital retail business model, the development of digital retail has really entered a new stage of development.

What retail means is changing

No matter how advanced the technology is, no matter how innovative the model is, if there is no fundamental change in the retail connotation, the development of the retail industry cannot be brought to a new stage of development in any case. This is the fundamental reason why many so-called new retail concepts represented by social new retail, content new retail and live new retail appeared and withdrew.

If retail is to undergo a profound and comprehensive transformation, especially if the development of retail is to enter the development stage of digital retail, the connotation of retail must undergo a profound and comprehensive transformation. At the end of the day, it’s about finding the true fit for digital retail. When digital retail really has the connotation of digital retail, its development can really enter a new stage of development.

From the development of digital retail, its connotation is undergoing a fundamental metamorphosis. In the past, when we refer to retail, it usually plays the role of selling goods and services, and has no other connotation or meaning. When digital retail is getting deeper, especially when the development of digital retail begins to enter its own development cycle, we can see that it no longer only undertakes the function of commodity sales, but more begins to undertake the function of data and digital acquisition, sorting, processing and re-application, but more begins to undertake the function of bridging the upstream and downstream separation and poor information. But began to play the role of realizing the industry upstream and downstream numbers, data can achieve a more perfect, efficient docking function.

As mentioned above, they are no longer just playing the role of information docking, but begin to play the role of underlying infrastructure, especially to play the role of more efficient and perfect connecting bridge and link between upstream and downstream retail. When these digital retail players really break the barriers of information connection between the upstream and downstream of the industry and realize the seamless connection between the upstream and downstream of the industry, they may no longer be such a platform and centered form of expression as we see now, but become a deep into every process and link of the upstream and downstream of the industry. And can make the industry upstream and downstream can achieve a real sense of seamless connection of new infrastructure.

In this new form of business, not only will the meaning of retail begin to change in a profound way, but even these digital retail players will also develop a profound change. More specifically, the platforms and hubs that we are used to today may cease to exist.

conclusion

A new evolution is taking place in digital retail.

The fundamental reason that really causes such a profound evolution lies in the bridging of traffic boundary, the transmutation of technology essence and the metamorphosis of retail connotation. When the three work together, especially when the new changes of digital retail triggered by the three begin to come, the development of digital retail can truly jump out of the past is still confined to the development model of the Internet, and truly enter a new stage of development.