EY helps clients create long-term value for all stakeholders. Enabled by data and technology, our services and solutions provide trust through assurance and help clients transform, grow and operate.
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Through a future-back approach, Retail Stores Reimagined helps retailers evolve brick-and-mortar strategies to meet consumer expectations and provide connected, personalized and innovation-led experiences. Retail Stores Reimagined helps maximize store purpose, footprint and layout; revamp operations; address the talent agenda; and execute fulfillment.
Heightened consumer demands, new ways of engaging and the need for technology-driven modernization are fueling retail’s evolution. Stores remain a cornerstone of this evolution, shifting from shopping and buying destinations to experience-driven, integrated touch points within the entire retail ecosystem. To compete in an increasingly digital world, retailers need a store strategy that goes beyond brick and mortar.
Solution benefits
In addition to helping you better meet customer expectations and increase engagement, reshaping the in-store experience can also boost operational efficiency, reduce costs and bolster sales. Other benefits include:
Driving growth amid rapid change and future-proofing the business
Building agile, transparent and resilient operating models
Prioritizing the company’s purpose to align with consumer values
Solution features and functionality
Our Retail Stores Reimagined capabilities are organized into three areas of opportunity that retailers should capitalize on to transform. The EY team can help you with:
Creating a more engaging, personalized omnichannel shopping experience. We help retailers:
Leverage customer data and artificial intelligence (AI) to define, implement and innovate store formats, with strategies such as concept stores, immersive experiences and customization at speed
Enhance store purpose, layout and footprint based on geographic implications and customer needs
Position the store as a brand differentiator in areas such as in-store transparency, interactive digital integrations, last mile and micro-fulfillment options, and dynamic pricing
Offerings include:
Capital planning, value modeling and business case development
Real estate portfolio strategy and planning
Technology modernization and digitizing the physical space
AI and machine learning for hyper-personalization
Sustainable return management
Establishing a digital-first, customer-centric organizational culture and designing future state talent processes and operating models that are resilient to rising labor costs. We help retailers:
Restructure operating models and upskill employees for faster digital adoptions and incentivized omnichannel sales generation
Leverage ecosystems and strategic partnerships to drive speed to market through existing technological capability upgrades, as well as strategic acquisitions and captive units to manage omnichannel operations
Introduce AI to optimize day-to-day work responsibilities and track newly targeted KPIs, utilizing solutions that can facilitate dynamic scheduling, automate recruitment processes, set a baseline for training and provide real-time assistance on inventory
Offerings include:
Process design and implementation
Operating model and KPI design
Skill set identification and talent planning
Talent effectiveness, training and development
Change, communication and adoption
Addressing the people, process, technology and data needs required to meet omnichannel fulfillment obligations and deliver a seamless, consistent customer experience. We help retailers:
Integrate processes — from order placement, to fulfillment
Implement real-time inventory updates and AI capabilities into order management systems (OMS) across stores
Leverage data for such uses as predictive inventory replenishment and utilize advanced OMS applications to assign store fulfillment
Streamline operations through capabilities, such as endless aisle, real-time inventory updates with point-of-sale integration or clienteling (long-term relationships between sales associates and customers based on data)
Evaluate store layout and process impacts to pick, pack and ship; carrier integrations; and reverse logistics of product returns
Offerings include:
Service design
Solution blueprinting and architecture
Buy/build/partner strategy and execution
Tax and incentive management
Store fulfillment operations
Integrated reporting and data management
Value creation strategy with a sustainable lens
Why EY
With 6,000 retail professionals serving 12,000 clients, EY teams have deep sector knowledge and experience to take retailers beyond brick and mortar. From data, technology and processes, to the humans responsible, we help reinvent stores and create seamless, integrated experiences.
Alliance relationships
Our Alliances and Ecosystem Relationships with the following companies help us deliver high-impact CX:
How Wawa is catering to customers with new convenient offerings
Wawa implements new technologies, keeping customers at the center of its offerings.