The Future of Shopping – Insights From Gigi J.K

Raydiant’s new series, the Future of Shopping, interviews experts and thought leaders with a goal of better understanding what organizations can do to prepare themselves for what lies ahead. 

The following is an interview we recently had with Gigi J.K., Founder and CEO of Virtina.

How has consumer shopping behavior evolved over the past 5 years?

Assessing the consumer behaviours of millennials in the past 5 years have brought an insight on their preferred domains of expenditure. They primely spend on food, alcohol, furniture, entertainment, and healthcare. While education has spread widely over the years, wise spending is noted among both genders. There is a shift in spending away from expenditures towards experiences. Also, economic pressures are hiking and wise spending habits have developed among consumers over the past years. The pandemic situation has transformed the shopping behaviour of customers greatly. Customers are opting to choose online shopping over other options since the outbreak of Covid-19. While there is lockdown, they prefer their goods to be delivered to their doorsteps as they are cautious on contracting Covid-19 while stepping out of their homes.

What are the top 3 trends shaping the ways consumers shop?

The top 3 trends shaping the ways consumers shop are:Digital shopping experience – Consumers are preferring to shop most of their products online laying priority on convenience and also safety from pandemic. They can simply get their preferred products from the online stores of their preference with a single click. The convenience of shopping online is winning their appreciation.Value for money – Customers are thoughtful after the lockdown experience and focus on purchasing products that are good value for money. They focus on products that are the best worth for the cost.Technology savvy – Customers prefer the latest technology innovations both in terms of products and services.

What's the future of shopping?

In the future, shopping will entirely be digitized. Cashless payments will clear transaction processes similar to the same approach adopted by Amazon already. Online shopping will completely take over physical retailing and the entire population is likely to succumb to the convenience and benefits of purchasing online. It is assessed that even at the end of the pandemic, the digitized shopping experience will continue to be the preference of the largest fraction of shoppers. With the pandemic situation, the largest number of shoppers have realized the benefits, safety, and convenience of shopping online. 

What are the 3 actionable steps an organization can take to prepare for the future?

Organizations can focus on building the soft skills of their employees and prepare them for a digitalized work environment. They can also upskill or even re-skill their existing employees and prepare them for delivering productivity in lucrative and important functional roles within the organization. They can scale the performance targets and focus on a performance-based approach for employees. It is important for organizations to plan and boost their productivity with effective strategies. They should identify the best strategies that can bring in maximum involvement from the employees and thus train them, invocate them to deliver better performance based on the new target for high productivity set by the organization.