Playbook describes how cloud technology helps retailers delight shoppers

Shoppers today can be fickle. Used to unlimited merchandise selection and customized recommendations available with e-commerce, they seek a localized customer experience when they enter a store.

Providing that experience while managing inventory levels and operational efficiency is a big challenge for retailers today.

Technology can help.  

New edge cloud systems that use AI to provide insight on shopper’s needs and habits can help retailers provide that localized experience with advanced inventory management, real-time pricing, data security, and digitized customer experience – all leading to customer satisfaction and an increased bottom line.

Rakuten Cloud offers playbook

To help guide retailers to a solution that works for them, Rakuten Cloud teamed with Retail Dive, an industry-focused media site delivering news and trends impacting retail, to produce a playbook to help retailers understand how to leverage edge compute technology to attract and satisfy increasing numbers of consumers.

Empowering retailers

Titled “How next-level distributed stateful edge solutions empower today’s retailers,” the playbook starts by identifying the top challenges facing retailers. These include:

• Managing store operations at scale
• Inventory management
• Security
• Minimal margins

Anirban Chakravartti, SVP, Global Head of Sales for Enterprise, Rakuten Cloud is one of the experts quoted in the playbook. He summarizes the challenges this way:  

“When running a retail chain, one has to manage multiple operations and if any of these applications fail, it will impact the store's top line and bottom line and be multiplied if they have a chain. One has to ensure these variables are monitored and fine-tuned to increase the store's and chain's top and bottom lines. The platform on which applications run needs to be agile and able to manage and handle the spikes based on seasonality and customer profile.”

‍Stateful edge computing makes the difference

The playbook then describes the characteristics of a stateful edge computing system, based on Kubernetes, that is the foundation of next-generation information systems that can make an impact for retailers.

Some of the advantages of an edge compute solution include:

• ‍Improved infrastructure and use of space: Edge cloud systems deliver more functionality in a small footprint.‍
• Reliable storage and data persistence: Onsite storage is a requirement for applications, like databases, that need data persistence
• ‍Reduced cost and boosted efficiency: Edge compute architectures result in a 40% reduction in operational expenses driven by automation. Capital expenditures are also up to 50% less expensive.‍
• Upgraded security: With less data traveling to remote data centers and all data protected by encryption, edge compute offers unique data security functionality

The playbook was developed for those retailers who are looking for new solutions to help them grow in an ultra-competitive environment. By using edge computing to drive AI-based retail information systems, retailers can get the actionable data they need. Click here to download and read the playbook.