Tesco, a British supermarket chain, uses its loyalty program data to recommend healthier products to customers, and at Saks Fifth Avenue, a deluxe department store, shop assistants are notified on the brand preferred by the customer that has just entered the store.

Retail has always responded to changes in consumer behavior quickly. Digital shifts are immediately relevant to retailers: the ease of buying has turned from something nice to have into a must. Disruptive innovators – those that use technologies to smoothen the inconveniences that a customer comes across in the buying process, - are changing the rules of the game and the market borders. Companies that have this understanding invest about 100x more in using and developing technologies than an average retailer. For instance, Amazon invests 12% of its revenue in new technologies, Alibaba invests 11% (the industry average is just 1-2%). In 2017, Amazon became a top-10 global retailer by revenue, and this is just the start. What can traditional retailers do to improve customer experience and retain clients?

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