Retailers, particularly in Asia Pacific, are in the midst of a wave of change with the advent of large international brands, hundreds of e-commerce start-ups and the drastically changing consumer behavior. Digital leaders in the retail industry have learned that exclusive customer experience is the critical differentiating factor in today’s unstable retail environment. This is evident with the rise in online shopping, use of social media for marketing campaigns, and the integration of smartphones with retail technology.

Personalization of retail experience is one of the emerging trends witnessed in the retail space in 2018. Retail enterprises today are focusing on tailoring different aspects of the shopping journey from customer communications to product building. Thus it is no longer limited to just putting someone’s first name in an email blast. By leveraging beacons, mobile point of sale (mPOS), near field communication, and Bluetooth technology, retailers are already able to greet customers and fabricate promotional pop-ups on screen as they walk through, and thus attract, engage, and convert prospects to shoppers. Voice-based shopping is also on the rise with over 20 million smart speakers currently being available in the US alone. The proliferation of devices such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home and the evolution of voice technology on mobile devices have also prompted consumers to use voice technology to browse and purchase products. Retailers are also utilizing artificial intelligence to develop chatbots that act as the new customer service reps by answering queries and dealing with specific customer requests.

Our distinguished selection panel comprising CEOs, CIOs, CFOs, industry analysts, and Retail CIO Outlook’s editorial board have thoroughly analyzed the industry and recognized the key players. We present to you, Retail CIO Outlook’s “Top 10 Retail Tech Companies in APAC - 2018.”