[2021 유통포럼] CEO of Soother Google “In the future shopping, voice recognition and unmanned stores…data analysis is the key”

Input 2021.03.25 14:40

CEO Ted Soother leads digital growth with Google’s Larry Page and Sergey Brin
“2021 should be the year for digital transformation”…Proposed five measures
“Consumers who have become sensitive to personal information, transparently disclose usage details”

“In the future, voice recognition will be the most common way for consumers to communicate with mobile devices, and unmanned stores will become mainstream in offline stores. For that time, we need to bring artificial intelligence and machine learning technology to every corner of our business.”

Ted Souder, CEO of Google’s retail division, served as a keynote speaker at the ‘2021 Distribution Industry Forum’ on the 25th and predicted the future of the distribution industry in this way. Under the theme of’Changing the perception of the distribution industry: customer experience data, digitalization, and D2C (Direct to Consumer, direct to consumer sales of consumers)’, the distribution industry has rapidly moved to the online center since the coronavirus infection (Corona 19). He emphasized that it is necessary to cope with a distribution environment with technology.

The distribution industry forum, which marks its ninth this year, is an event hosted by Chosun Biz, a media specialized in economy of Chosun Media Group. The topic of this forum held online is’Retail Technomics’.

Soother joined Google in 2001 and led the growth of the digital industry along with founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. In addition, from the beginning of e-commerce in 2004, it has joined the digital transformation of the distribution industry accelerated by Corona 19 last year.

CEO Soother pointed out that the weight of the distribution market was rapidly gaining momentum online after more than a year after the spread of Corona 19. He said, “The distribution industry only sold 10-20% of the products online before Corona, but due to sudden blockades and business restrictions, 100% of the volume has to be sold online,” he said. “The annual growth rate was around 10%. “The e-commerce market has grown by 10 years in just a few months.”

He added, “Offline stores will not be able to recover their previous sales even after the coronavirus outbreak ends,” he said. “Consumers’ behavior has changed to online at once, and will not go back to pre-Corona forever.”

According to an aggregate of market research firm Digital Commerce 360, e-commerce sales in the U.S., which increased by an average of 14-16% per year from 2016 to 2019, increased by 44% in 2020. The share of e-commerce in the entire distribution market has also increased. It has been in the early mid-10% for several years, but last year it has grown to 21.3%.

Soother said, “In the case of Shopify, an online shopping mall in Southeast Asia, sales in April-May 2020 increased by 62% from the same period a year ago.” .

He said that rather than completely abandoning either online or offline, it should support online purchases and find a balance by supporting the shopping experience through offline stores. Instead, he advised us to change the way we run offline stores. The store environment needs to be tailored to the demands of consumers who are sensitive to hygiene and safety, and the product line should be reorganized to what consumers want’now’.

◇ “Distribution industry needs to prepare for the era of voice recognition and unmanned stores”

In the long run, CEO Soude predicts that non-face-to-face consumption will dominate with the introduction of IT technology, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning technology into the distribution industry.

“In the future, voice recognition will be the most common way to communicate with mobile devices, and unmanned stores that do not go through a special payment process will become the mainstream for offline stores,” he said. “In preparation for that time, artificial intelligence and Machine learning technology should be introduced throughout the business.”

It was diagnosed that the growth rate of the D2C (Direct To Consumer) market, which producers sell directly to consumers, will also accelerate. As D2C companies adopt digital-based business methods, it is expected that more personalized services will be possible than before. Soother emphasized that in order to respond to this, traditional retailers should also analyze big data and provide customized services to individual customers.

Soother said, “2021 should be the year for digital transformation,” and suggested five measures to retailers.

The first is to effectively use the customer data that the company holds. He said, “Excellent D2C companies properly integrate online and offline consumption experiences, and use cloud services and AI technology to provide customized commerce services wherever consumers are.” “It’s about getting into a relationship.”

◇ “It is key to connect with consumers through customized data”

“Secondly, we need to use a tool that can analyze data obtained from multiple platforms in a complex manner,” said Soude. “Collecting information from multiple platforms and devices will give you a competitive perspective on the customer’s experience.” There is” he said.

Third, he advised to be transparent about the use of personal information. This means that consumers need to properly understand and respond to consumers’ awareness of personal information issues. According to a survey by the Pew Research Center in the United States, 81% of adult respondents in the United States said, “I have very little control over the collection of personal information by companies.” Answered.

“We need to continue to narrow the gap between model data and measured values ​​for consumers by using machine learning technology, etc.,” adding, “For consumers who use multiple devices, we also quantify the impact of our marketing “You have to fill in the gaps,” he explained.

“Fifthly, using a secure cloud-based solution (analysis tool) will not only provide insight into the probability of a consumer purchasing a product or customer lifetime value (CLV), but also secure consumer data. I will be able to do it,” he added.

Soother said that it is standing at the’starting point of a new golden age’ for the distribution industry after the coronavirus. He said, “Historically, after a crisis, growth and opportunities have been explosive,” he said. “It connects with local startups, supports entrepreneurs who develop next-generation products and services, and takes risks for growth.” Allow culture.”