What does the evolving face of the Retail Industry look across the Indian Subcontinent, Middle East, and Africa?

From India to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan—let’s look at how the narrative of the Retail Industry continues to unfold.

The Retail Industry is in a constant state of flux. This means, we can see continuous shifts in the way this industry behaves not just across time but also across regions.

In India, the organised retail market is undergoing rapid expansion leading to increasing focus on providing personalised shopping experiences through omnichannel strategies, cashless and contactless digital payment modes, hyperlocal marketing campaigns, and customised communications and offers.

In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), we can see a rapidly expanding fashion retail market fuelled by a strong economy, increasing internet penetration, rising smartphone utilisation, and fashion-conscious population.

When it comes to Saudi Arabia, e-commerce is viewed as vital to enhance the country’s national economy with the aim of developing the necessary infrastructure that enables public, private, and non-profit sectors to achieve the National Transformation Program’s Vision 2030.

And when we look at Pakistan’s Retail Industry, we can see how, despite the political and economic turmoil, efforts are being made in boosting retail sales capabilities by leveraging e-commerce and expansion to new locations.

However, there’s one thing that ties all this together: the constant need to cater to the changing end consumer preferences and ensuring a seamless consumer experience. To achieve this, the Retail Industry needs an ideal logistics operation that can empower businesses in their just-in-time strategy, omnichannel presence through a connected experience across modes of transportation, inventory management, and most importantly, visibility and control across entire supply chain. An ideal logistics partner should be able to provide retailers with:

• Improved transportation networks
• Better warehousing and storage facilities
• Own delivery network and fulfilment centres
• Seamless last mile delivery empowered by digitalisation

Collaboration with one single retail logistics partner is the need of the hour. And it’ll be interesting to see how retail brands harness this and together propel the retail industry towards growth.

Our e-book analyses these trends across regions and puts forward how supply chains can redefine themselves to cater to the changing dynamics of the Retail Industry.