by kumar vembu its the irony of our times that one of the oldest industries is witnessing tectonic changes in the use of technology with covid enabling customers to shop and deliver online digital transformation is the only way to survive to the new normal it is no longer the big beating the small but the fast fossilizing the slow the pandemic has taught that change is not constant and businesses have to continuously evolve by innovating building the agility to get a competitive edge this article aims to address the top 4 technology trends in retail1 omnichannel friendly erpconsumer exposure to multiple channels has driven the need for seamless connectivity between the physical and digital worlds irrespective of the channel they come from whatsapp mobile phone online or even the physical store needs are the same businesses need to provide all service options from a complete selfservice shopping experience to a comprehensive fullservice shopping experience stores will need to provide convenience to browse or buy instore on mobile and offline such multichannel experiences would need to support all types of purchase behaviors from bopis buy online and pick up instore ropo research online and pickup offline bimbo browse instore in mobile and buy online isu instore pickup the traditional model to boris buy online and return in store with the lines between channels blurring such seamless experiences are possible with a friendly erp that provides integrations to marketplaces onlineordering loyalty payment backed up with comprehensive realtime inventory advt 2 manage sameday delivery or faster deliveries with a delivery platformthe lastmile delivery is the most crucial experience in the journey of the customer a true lastmile experience is possible when the delivery solution lets the customer choose the delivery slots defining how they want to get delivered at their convenience an effective delivery platform provides a huge costbenefit making them more efficient to perform faster deliveries the mobile app for delivery gives full control to the retailer as the operations are automated and makes the delivery system more foolproof retailers now can communicate with the consumers and the delivery crew directly and build a lasting relationship with them 3 improved customer experience with instore mobilitywith customer experience being a key differentiator businesses need to provide the freedom of choice from ordering to billing on any device be it a tablet mobile web or even kiosks at the store there will be an increase in the adoption of selfservice kiosks selfcheckout counters rfid and endless aisle besides the stores need to have a pricechecker way to check the ingredients or nutrition value reviews of the product they want to buy and beacons to connect the consumers app on discounts offers by attracting them to the store mobiles will be used for automating store operations like stockcountingaudit goods inward and stockpick for online orders adding mobility to store operations enhances the employee experience paving the way to a highly motivated empowered environment for efficient working which in turn helps businesses deliver delight