1CONTENTS4FOREWORD5INSIDERETAILVIEWPOINT6HIGHLIGHTS8SURVEYSCOPE10ECOMMERCEANDMARKETPLACES15SETTINGUPFORDIGITALSUCCESS19BARRIERSTOINNOVATION24DIGITALMATURITYOFASIANRETAILERS29THEFUTURESTATEOFDIGITAL42018ASIADIGITALTRANSFORMATIONREPORTclearishowretailersinAsiaarerespondingtothesechallenges.InajointresearchstudybetweenTofugearandInsideRetail,we’veasked150retailexecutivesacrosstheregionhowtheirbusinessesaresetupforinnovationandhowfartheyareintheirdigitaltransformationjourneys.Ifthereisacommonthreadrunningthroughoutthisreportitisanawarenessthatactionisneedednow.Anoverwhelmingmajorityofretailersagreesthatinvestmentindigitalinitiativesiscriticaliftheyaretoreimaginethecustomerexperiencefortoday’sswitched-onconsumer.However,gettingtowheretheyneedtobeisawholeotherquestion.Respondentstooursurveysaythatinnovationishamperedbyafocusonshort-termreturn-on-investmentandaresistancetochange.Meanwhile,largerretailerscitealackofcross-departmentalco-operationasabarriertogettingdigitalprojectsofftheground.Itisalsostrikingtoseethatnearlythree-quartersofallretailersdonotconsidertheirorganisationstobeflag-bearersfordigitaltransformation.Itmaynotonlybeacaseofinvestinginnewsystemsandtechnologiesthough–retailersmightalsowanttolookatthewayinwhichtheymanageinnovation.Thereisacasetobemadefortheintroductionofnewdigitalrolesthatoperatehorizontallyacrosstheorganisation,aligningalldepartmentstothestrategy.WeintendforthisstudytobedoneonanannualbasisasastateoftheindustryfordigitaltransformationandarelookingforwardtoseeinghowretailersinAsiacontinuetoevolvetheirapproachesinafast-changingconsumerlandscape.Wewouldliketoextendathankyoutoallretailersthatparticipatedinoursurveyandthosethathelpedputourfindingsintocontextbysharingtheirinsights.Withoutyourhelp,thisreportwouldnothavebeenpossible.Thesearetestingtimesfortheretailindustry.Thebalanceofpowerhasshiftedfromretailerstotheconnectedconsumer,whogetstodecidehow,whenandwheretheywanttoengagewithyourbrand.Meanwhile,disruptiveretailerslikeAmazonandAlibabaar...
