By Retail Brew Staff
less than 3 min read
Definition:
Adaptive retail is the latest industry buzzword to describe a business model that is capable of serving customers’ needs and wants across multiple channels, from online to in-store and everything in between. The terms “omnichannel” and “unified commerce” have covered similar ground but not quite to the degree of adaptive retail, at least according to Walmart, which helped popularize the concept. As Suresh Kumar, global chief technology officer and chief development officer at Walmart, previously told Retail Brew: “It’s retail that is not only e-commerce or in-store, but a single, unified retail experience that seamlessly blends the best aspects of all channels.”
Origins of adaptive retail
As e-commerce became a more essential piece of the puzzle for retailers, the question of how to make sure it complemented the rest of the business loomed large. As early as 2003, companies such as Best Buy were trying to make sense of this newly divided retail landscape, and the introduction of mobile shopping and social commerce only increased the urgency of the challenge. Adaptive retail is the most recent attempt to brand those efforts, while also pushing the idea forward to include the most cutting-edge techniques for integrating the shopping experience for shoppers across channels.
Adaptive retail in context
If the concept is still unclear, Walmart recently invoked the term while announcing the rollout of its same-day pharmacy delivery. The company said the new service was a win for adaptive retail because it was offered in response to customers who wanted to shop for other items while picking up their medications.
The retail giant also started releasing an annual State of Adaptive Retail Report to highlight key trends around the concept. Using survey data, the report showed that consumers want “hyper-specific” recommendations; frictionless shopping experiences; cohesion between in-store and online shopping; and relatedly, are agnostic about which channel they use to shop.
Not everyone is so keen on the term, though. Some adherents to earlier iterations of this concept, like unified commerce, believe that constantly changing the terminology makes it harder for the industry to align around the ideas under the words.
