Digitalization in the Retail Business: A Strategy to gain a Competitive Edge

Abstract

Digitalization has penetrated all businesses, and retail is not an exception. The digital disruption has caused significant changes in which businesses were done. An important aspect of digitalization is that it has provided a competitive edge to business organizations. Retailers more digitally equipped are ahead in their business segment than those still stuck with the traditional brick-and-mortar structure. This paper evaluates the digital edge that retailers have leveraged to gain market share and stay ahead of their competitors. One hundred ten medium-sized retailers from Bengaluru were surveyed, and their view on the competitive edge of digitization to their business was ascertained. Findings suggest that retailers who have adopted digitalization have gained a significant competitive edge over others who have failed to do so or have been slow in adopting digitalization. The message for retailers is thus quite clear – stay digital and stay ahead in the competition.