2020 brought about total disruption in the forecasts for all sectors over the next few years, as well as in the strategic plans set forth for next year.
The global coronavirus pandemic has made the importance of the digital medium and digital tools evident both on an internal level (industry players and companies which have noticed a mismatch between their technology level and the level they really need) and on an external level (users who have discovered the convenience of digital shopping).
2021 will be the year of the digital sprint for manufacturers and retailers in the majority of the commercial sectors, amongst which we can find consumer electronics — a subsector whose sales have boomed over the last few months and which has run into challenges in terms of the online shopping experience.
Consumers expect a product search and purchase process that is just as effective, complete, and well informed on digital channels as it is in the physical shops, which were less visited in 2020 (and this trend is foreseen to continue in 2021).
Consumer electronics products bring with them more difficulties for online shopping, as they have a lot of technical specifications that have to be correct at all times and on all sales channels, and they are products that are hard to see and find attractive with mere text descriptions and simple images.
The good news is that this is bringing about the development of technologies that will better support the online product experience and which will bring consumer electronics manufacturers and retailers to levels which will meet the demands of consumers.
Technological innovations will allow for more personalized strategies when making customers aware of products and they will better differentiate consumer electronics brands from competitors. Until now, the electronics market was characterized by catalogs and shopping experiences that were all quite similar, with hardly any difference in terms of product pages, online shops, and branding between one make and the competition.
To be in control of product information and conversions across all channels and in a single process flow will optimize the electronic sector’s productivity and start to take it to the level of digitalization of other more advanced sectors.
In this radical change, data and smart technologies are at the core of success. Digitalization, robotics, virtual reality and augmented reality, home devices and portable devices with sensors built in, IoT (Internet of Things), and 5G connectivity are going to be what lead commerce’s modernization process across the board.
Without a doubt, 5G is the main player in terms of sales forecasts for the next few years, as this mobile technology (which will replace the current 4G technology), launched in 2019, will begin to gain strength in 2021 with great advantages for optimizing manufacturing, distribution, and sales processes and improving the digital shopping experience.
At the moment, 5G is expanding faster in Asia and North America, but it is foreseen that by 2024, 1.9 billion devices in all the world will be using this networking technology.
The first phase for manufacturers and sellers is to have all their resources organized and to take advantage of 5G connectivity possibilities. A PIM system prepares companies with automated management and product content connection processes for any channel and artificial intelligence technology that requires the input of product data to be able to play a part in the online shopping experience.
Try Sales Layer’s PIM solution and take the first step towards the future that starts with 2021.