Author(s): Shahzia Khan, Muhammad Usman Tariq
In the dynamic and competitive retail environment, retailer constantly quest to find out ways of understand the customers need and formulate strategies to transcend their rising expectations. Understanding the digital savvy consumers is becoming difficult more than ever before. Moreover, the retailers face the challenges posed by the changing retail landscape and operational complexities. However, in the disruptive era several technologies are emerging that provide smart business solution to the organizations. Among the popular digital innovation, internet of Things (IoT) has caught the attention of several researchers and marketers. Marketers, retailers in particular, optimize the use of IoT to achieve profitability through competitive advantage. This study aims at finding answer to two fundamental research questions (i) how do retailers harness the benefits of IoT to enhance their business efficiencies and (ii) what are the challenges associated with IoT implementation. To unravel the answer to these research questions, a qualitative study was conducted where data were gathered through the informal discussions thirty-eight leading retailers of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This study sheds light on the benefits of IoT application in UAE Retail industry and discusses a few challenges associated with its implementation.