Microsoft announced that Microsoft Cloud for Retail will be widely available on February 1. This industry-specific cloud platform will help retailers connect with their customers, improve the shopping journey, and continue to advance their digital transformations.
Microsoft Cloud for Retail will join a number of existing industry-specific cloud offerings including those for healthcare, financial services, and manufacturing. The solution for retail could not have come at a better time.
Apart from announcing general availability, Microsoft has also highlighted four opportunities that retailers can take advantage of through the capabilities offered by Cloud for Retail.
The first is maximizing the value of retail data through robust data modeling that unifies heterogeneous data sources. This will enable customer profiles, fraud protection, and shopper operational analytics.
Next we have is elevation of the shopping experience by offering personalized recommendations and search results to keep the customer more engaged. This also extends to digital advertising solutions, streamlined customer service, and intelligent stores.
Third on the list is the development of a real-time and sustainable supply chain. Microsoft Cloud for Retail will help stores better predict demand by leveraging the power of AI so they can manage their inventories and orders accordingly. Other capabilities in this domain include reporting and reducing carbon emissions, demand planning, and visibility of the supply chain.
Finally, we have empowerment of the store associate. The idea is to make technology investments for the workforce so that automation and real-time communication is in place. Microsoft claims that the benefits of this approach will be downstreamed to the customer and will result in higher satisfaction levels too.
