Mehmet Karakus’ Post

Uniqlo has one of the best self-service systems. This cash register automatically counts RFID-based clothing items and generates a receipt. The Japanese company with ~$19 billion in annual sales started implementing this system back in 2014, but it has become widespread in recent years due to falling chip prices. Now, 70-90% of in-store purchases are made with RFID chips, and the time to make a purchase has become 50% faster than the cashier. Now that's the convenience of self-service checkouts! #Japan #technology #innovation #business #marketing #futuretechnology #future #civilization #digital #idea #corporation #globalbusiness #globaleconomy #globalindustry #globalmarketing #strategy #creative #futurecity

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗙𝗜𝗗! What do Uniqlo, Zara, Decathlon, and WalMart know that you can not see? 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀:  “A retail chain, thriving for decade suffers from unprecedented chaos in the holiday season, their most lucrative time of year. Shelves are empty, customers are irate, and sales are plummeting. Behind the scenes, the problem is clear – their outdated inventory system has failed them at the worst possible time. The company's decision to stick with manual tracking and barcodes, ignoring the rise of RFID technology, has led to massive discrepancies in inventory data. Popular items expected to be in stock are nowhere to be found, while the warehouse overflows with unsold merchandise. The situation worsens as competitors, who had adopted RFID technology, seamlessly managed their inventories and catered to the holiday rush, stealing away frustrated customers.” 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱: 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗥𝗙𝗜𝗗 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗯𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝗥𝗙𝗜𝗗 𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗴𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗙𝗜𝗗 𝟭. 𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗚𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝟮. 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝟯. 𝗘𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝟰. 𝗜𝘁 𝗗𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝟱. 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝟲. 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟳. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝘀𝘁 (𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗜 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄) 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗥𝗙𝗜𝗗 𝗻𝗼𝘄! 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀. #Innovation #LinkedInGrowth #MarketingStrategy #44North #linkedingrowth #marketing #linkedinsales #businessgrowth #resultdriven #consultancy #RFID #retail

Thank you to The Drum for including my views in their piece 'Retail therapy: The fashion brands delivering the best in-store experiences'. Article link in comments. Brick-and-mortar retail is not dead. Indeed, while e-commerce is growing, physical retail still accounts for 82% of sales in the US. Yet the store experience does need to evolve, so brands should take the best elements of traditional retail and then add cues from the digital experience. In this regard, there are few better than Uniqlo. The Japanese company starts by nailing the basics with well-merchandised stores containing clearly signposted items that are neatly presented at all times. The pricing strategy is easy to understand and enhanced by enticing promotions on core lines that drive higher-sized baskets without turning the space into a sea of discounts. Moreover, it has proprietary fabrication, as well as ongoing high-profile partnerships (mainly with T-shirts), that offer newness and exclusivity for buyers and a reason to come back regularly. In-store imagery, meanwhile, showcases ‘ways to wear’ alongside detail around fit – especially useful for jeans – akin to the information that consumers look for when buying online. Where Uniqlo truly excels is the checkout experience. Customers simply drop their items into a tray at an unmanned till, whereupon the cost is calculated without the need to scan items. This greatly speeds up the process of buying, bringing an e-commerce advantage into the store. Some of their locations – like Ginza in Japan – have elevated experiences, yet for all-round retail consistency and approach, Uniqlo is a standard-bearer. Thanks also Lisa Gruber. #Retail #BrickAndMortar #Uniqlo #RetailExperiences

Unveiling robust Omni-Channel Fulfillment capabilities for Singles Day shopping festival 📦 🌟🛍️ Watch our customers Lacoste and ERNO LASZLO share insights into our operations and collaboration.   Our advanced Omni-Channel Fulfillment (OCF) capabilities were instrumental in supporting the Double Eleven retail promotions for 56 clients across 16 OCF sites in China. The diligent efforts of our team have successfully managed 8.15 million outbound orders, comprising over 16 million units – marking a noteworthy 26% increase compared to 2022.   "During Double Eleven, the sales volume surges to unprecedented levels, reaching more than 10 times, or even 30 times of normal volume. By meticulous preparation and planning and through seamless collaboration with various teams, we are able to offer integrated services for customers across multiple verticals, including home product, footwear & apparel, fashion, FMCG, cosmetics, and technology, among others,” says Sophy Chen, Head of OCF China account management, Jiangsu & North China operation.   Singles Day, also known as Double Eleven, has consistently been a monumental E-commerce event with its origins in China.   Learn about our Omnichannel Fulfilment in Asia Pacific here: https://lnkd.in/gn8mTkua   #Maersk #SinglesDay #Ecommerce #customerled #omnichannelfulfilment 

Want a discussion about omnichannel fulfilment? Let me know. We have solutions to fit all requirements. #maersk #omnichannelfulfilment #ecommerce #singlesday #customercentricity

Fashion retailers are shifting toward fewer, better-designed stores. Brands like Zara and H&M have taken a two-pronged approach: close weaker locations while investing in select stores to create larger spaces that offer services (such as beauty salons, repair stations, and coffee shops) and new technology (including automated return and collection points and self-checkout areas). Retailers once relied on large networks of stores to reach people but now the internet can do that for them far more efficiently. Companies are thus repurposing stores as destinations to promote brand image. “Now it’s about engaging with consumers and giving them an experience,” said Henrik Nordvall, manager of H&M’s U.K. business.

Although generally smaller stores seem to be the trend over the past decade because slow moving merchandise can be sold online and therefore stocked at industrial sites where real estate costs are lower, some retailers are now saying that larger flagship-type stores are more beneficial for the store brand and customer experience. For example, Inditex, the parent of ZARA SA closed a quarter of its stores since 2018 and now has 5,745 locations across the world. Yet total revenue from stores increased 8% in 2022 compared with four years earlier, with each store selling 30% more on average, according to Inditex CEO Óscar García Maceiras. He says that store managers routinely tell him they want to expand (the store size) because only larger stores are able to accommodate most or all of Zara’s (merchandise) range. Though Inditex stores are getting larger, sales per square foot is now up 16% relative to 2019, Garcia said. Zara's fast-fashion competition seems to be focusing on upgraded stores as well. UNIQLO is still expanding in Western markets, where its footprint is significantly smaller than H&M and Zara, but it is also opening destination stores. H&M has cut its store count 14% from its 2019 peak to 4,375 stores but increased its capEx budget by 43% for 2023 to roughly $1 billion, partly to push ahead with store modernization. 

A new UBS report predicts that about 45,000 retail stores might close by 2028 as online shopping grows to 26% of #retail. The biggest impacts? Apparel, electronics, and home furnishings. Learn more: https://ow.ly/XBR450RsOHK #ecommerce

Exciting news in the world of footwear and apparel technology! One of the most interesting technologies to roll out is the use of RFID to allow for individual item scanning within a container. This not only saves time, but also ensures 100% accuracy without having to manually count hundreds of items. My company already implemented this technology years ago for QA checks on ocean container boxes and it's amazing to see it now being used for individual cartons of shoes or garments. The cost and technology have improved significantly, making this a game changer for the industry. Have you seen any other innovative technologies in footwear and apparel? Let's discuss in the comments below. #RFIDtechnology #footwearindustry #apparelindustry #innovation #supplychainbrain

While the popularity of discount online shopping platforms Shein and Temu is increasing day by day in Europe and the USA, experts point out the huge global logistics consequences. Experts say that the rapid rise of fast fashion e-commerce retailers such as Shein and Temu has "turned the global air cargo industry upside down" and say that this situation will have serious consequences for the air transportation market. Click for detailed information: https://lnkd.in/dRn-9HXn #worldef #ecommerce #shein #temu #crossborderrecommerce