The end is finally in sight. People are leaving their homes. Borders are opening. Footfall at shopping centres is increasing. Store shelves are no longer empty. It’s an exciting time for retailers in Australia. But, at the same time, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows.

Dubbed “The Great Retail Reset” by Deloitte, the new retail norm requires retailers to embrace digital transformation and long-term thinking in order to adapt to changing customer behaviours. The inconvenient truth is: online retail sales volumes have broken the stratosphere, and there’s no signs of it slowing.

According to research by Australia Post, online purchases grew on average 10.9% year-on-year (YOY) in May 2022, with 15.3% growth and 13.2% growth in Queensland and New South Wales respectively. They also reveal that an average of 5.4 million households have purchased something online each month in 2022 so far.

Acquiring stability in this torrential storm, and re-igniting profitability, are two of the biggest challenges facing traditional brick-and-mortar retailers in Australia today.

What do the experts say about the changing Australian retail sector?

Let’s take a look at what some of the experts have to say about the Australian retail landscape:

  • CBRE’s Future of Retail report identifies three key drivers as having the largest influence on the retail environment by 2030: sustainability, experience, and convenience.
  • Boston Consulting Group's review of consumer behaviour predicts that the following will  persist: changing consumer behaviours, a greater need for personalisation, and a stronger need for omnichannel experiences.
  • And lastly, globally renowned KPMG stresses that the agile retailer will be the one that wins the day. They advocate that as a best practice, retailers should invest heavily in understanding their customers, digital offerings, and supply-chain agility.

What’s the common thread across these three vantage points? Digitalisation and Communication. And that’s where communication APIs can help. Don’t worry, it’s not as complicated as it sounds!

If you’re not familiar with communication APIs, this section might be a good read. Put simply, communication APIs help power better customer experiences, and perhaps most importantly, they do not require heavy investment or complex integration.

APIs (application program interfaces) are gateways or bridges between applications. APIs make it possible for critical data to be shared—quickly, efficiently, and accurately—between internal systems (e.g., CRMs) and communications technology, such as SMS messaging, voice calls, chat apps, and more.

With communication APIs, loyalty programs are out, and personalisation is in

Today’s shoppers expect more than just earning loyalty points. Instead of cashing in rewards, they seek tailored and targeted interactions to be of value, personalised, timely, and relevant.

We know what you’re thinking:  “How is that possible with so many different shopper preferences?”

Enter communication APIs.

Everyone knows that ad spaces are saturated, and email inboxes are overflowing. Getting noticed by social media algorithms is another battlefield. And yet, many businesses continue trying to get results on these channels despite limited success. If you’re looking for the quickest and most affordable communications channel that actually reaches more customers, then traditional, tried-and-tested SMS has shown positive results.

SMS is the most trusted communication source with an open rate of 98% compared to email, which is usually only 20% at best. This probably explains why Lazada, Traveloka, and Tokopedia are using it.

With 8x8’s SMS API, retailers can segment and schedule promotional materials based on shopper preferences and make sure that they only receive offers that are relevant to their needs. You can schedule to send branded SMS notifications with embedded links and promotions to thousands, or even millions, of customers at a single time. The icing on the cake is: you only have to pay for what you need!

Communication APIs enable convenient, real-time, remote communication

Sometimes shoppers want to speak to a real-life person, and they want to speak to a real-life person NOW! Which is why companies depend on 8x8’s Video Interaction tool to clarify customer doubts and/or mitigate complaints in secure video conference rooms.

These rooms do not require any sign ups or downloads, so with the tap of a link, you’re connected with your shopper. Complete with image capturing, annotation, and video sharing capabilities, remote shopping (or dispute resolution) has never been easier.

The new normal for retail is all about omnichannel. Are you omnipresent?

Of course, no retailer should overlook the chat app revolution. Australian consumers have begun to shift away from the use of single channel communications to multi-channel communications, and retailers are following suit.

Boston Consulting Group reported that whereas online has typically been considered an “add-on” service, up to 65% of retailers are now doubling down on their efforts to deliver a fully integrated experience across their branding, product offering, communications, and value.

Which is why many retailers are incorporating Chat App APIs into their customer communications strategy. The problem, of course, is that there are so many chat apps on the market today, which is why 8x8 has built a platform to streamline them all. Whether your customers prefer WhatsApp or WeChat, our platform, 8x8 Converse lets you manage them all from one place, so you can have better conversations with more customers.

There’s a hundred different reasons why retailers should use 8x8 Converse, but here’s the top five:

  • You can get started instantly
  • You can increase conversions with support of rich content, such as photos and videos
  • You can keep track of marketing effectiveness with constant visibility provided through detailed reports
  • You can integrate with Zendesk, Freshdesk, or Salesforce to make life even easier
  • You only pay for what you use

Take charge of The Great Retail Reset with 8x8 Communication APIs

Every challenge brings new opportunities. To compete in the new era of Australian retail, we encourage retailers to explore the power, ease, and cost-effectiveness of communication APIs. This blog only scratches the surface of the trends that are currently unfolding, and how 8x8 Communication APIs can help Australian retailers to pivot. We’d welcome the opportunity to unpack the opportunities and show you how 8x8 can help. Contact hello-cpaas@8x8.com to get the conversation started.