One of the industries to have coped and survived lockdown with steady growth is online retail, according to the Salesforce Q1 Shopping Index there has been a 17% revenue growth in Q1 2020 compared to only 2% the year prior. As companies come of out lockdown, they will begin to look for more innovative and creative solutions that will not only retain customers that but to gain more.

Next day delivery and improved accessibility have been employed by online retailers to provide quick and easy ways to access their products, however there has been a growing move towards personalizing the shopping experience. Online retailers are moving towards personalisation strategies to enhance the experience of customers and improve their business. Cohaesus, a digital consultancy, reported that 90% of customers are willing to share their data if it results in a cheaper and easier retail experience.

Companies are looking for exciting technologies to work with that will give them an added edge on the market and help to keep the online retail market growing. In Israel, there are new and exciting start-ups that are providing the retail industry with new ways to personalize their shopping experience:

• Belle-ai is an online marketplace that combines customers with hundreds of online stores to act as a stylist. Users build a personal profile, through which Belle will then make fashion recommendations from a variety of stores to the customer, making the experience more effective and more personal to the shopper.
• Online collaboration is another option to help personalize shopping, with customers collaborating online to buy the perfect item. Gamitee is social purchasing tool that allows customers to consult with each other live, without leaving the site, helping to avoid cart abandonment and more social shopping.

It is not just in the personalisation segment of retail where Israel technology thrives, there are over 230 different companies that provide new and high-tech solutions to some of the problems that the retail industry is facing, according to Start-Up Nation Central. Israeli technology can help to grow the retail industry further and provide the answers the problems that Coronavirus has presented.

For more information, please contact yariv.becher@israeltrade.gov.il