In a previous blog post, we explored Microsoft’s new report, “Reimagining Retail in the Digital Age,” at a high level. The report is designed to help retailers understand how new, innovative digital technologies can help them adapt to a fast-paced world in which consumers are in the driver’s seat.

Microsoft highlights four key pillars retailers must embrace to transform their customer experiences and business processes from the ground up. In today’s blog post, we’ll dive deeper into the first pillar, “Engage Your Customers.” No doubt, the digital shopping landscape has changed the way they shop and what they expect from retailers. Consumers today assume they will automatically receive customized interactions, product recommendations and offers based on their buying habits and purchasing patterns.

Long-time retailers are struggling to keep pace with this truly ground breaking shift in control. As the report states, such businesses have been challenged to bring today’s born-in-the-web, data-driven technology into the physical store to deliver the type of experiences and service shoppers want. While targeted ads and offers have proven to be successful when deployed online and via mobile devices, retailers are still struggling to extend that success to their brick-and-mortar locations.

However, digital tools – such as beacons, the cloud, IoT, machine learning, artificial intelligence and mixed-reality technology – are changing the game for legacy retailers. Microsoft states that 40% of retailers are making personalized customer experience a top priority. And, 61% expect personalization tools will “generate a meaningful return on investment.”

Microsoft’s predictive analytics solutions can help retailers track product demand and manage inventory levels and store locations, including mobile devices, while offering customers the customization and convenience they value. Such solutions also harness real-time data streams as well as the customer’s social platforms to make relevant product recommendations. They also generate a goldmine of insights that businesses can draw from to enhance and further personalize future shopping experiences.

For more information – as well as in-depth examples of how solutions and services like Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Dynamics365, Office 365 and Power BI can help retailers customize the shopping journey– download the full report here.

Amicis Solutions is the go-to provider of Microsoft solutions for retailers and hospitality brands in North America. Contact us today to learn how we can help you realize true business transformation.