Technology Trends and Internationalisation of UK Retail Business

This literature review focuses on the impact of technology trends on the internationalisation of UK retail business. It identifies different technological trends, benefits, and challenges faced by UK retail industry. The review highlights the importance of digitalisation and its impact on the retail sector. It also discusses the benefits of implementing new technologies in the retail industry and the challenges faced in the absence of new technologies during internationalisation of business.

Literature Review

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Research Topic:......................................................................................................................3
Opinion of research topic:......................................................................................................3
Research Aim:........................................................................................................................3
Research Questions:...............................................................................................................3
Research Objectives:..............................................................................................................4
Research rationale:.................................................................................................................4
Literature Review.............................................................................................................................5
To identify the different technological trends within UK retail industry...............................5
To analyse the impact of technological trends on the internationalisation of UK retail business
................................................................................................................................................7
To determine the benefits availed by UK retail industry while adopting new technologies
within business.......................................................................................................................8
To investigate the challenges faced by UK retail industry in the absence of new technologies
during internationalising their business..................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Research Topic:
To determine the technology trends and its influence on the internationalisation of
business
Opinion of research topic:
Technological trends generally influence the customer reach and also create a great
impact on the company growth. There are various technological trends which are adopted by
businesses such as artificial intelligence, smart technology, virtual reality, user friendly
shopping, chatbots, automation of processes and many others (van Tulder, Verbeke and
Piscitello, eds., 2018). These trends have direct influence on the internationalisation of business
as it creates immense transformation in the way organisation and nations organise production,
develop new products and process, trade goods and invest capital (Pantano, Priporas and Stylos,
2018). This topic is chosen as it provides brief understanding about the technological trends an
its influence on the internationalisation business. The future benefits which can be availed by the
companies are increase in performance and productivity of business, improve in profitability,
adoption of advanced technology and many others (Pantano and Vannucci, 2018). As per the
opinion of the adoption of technological trends increases the efficiency of product which leads to
increase in input.
Research Aim:
To examine the different technological trends and its impact on the internationalisation of
business. A Study on UK retail industry
Research Questions:
 What are the different technological trends within UK retail industry?
 What are the impact of technological trends on the internationalisation of UK retail
business?
 What are the benefits availed by UK retail industry while adopting new technologies
within business?
 What are the challenges faced by UK retail industry in the absence of new technologies
during internationalising their business?

Research Objectives:
 To identify the different technological trends within UK retail industry
 To analyse the impact of technological trends on the internationalisation of UK retail
business
 To determine the benefits availed by UK retail industry while adopting new technologies
within business
 To investigate the challenges faced by UK retail industry in the absence of new
technologies during internationalising their business
Research rationale:
The rationale behind conducting this investigation is to examine the different
technological trends and its impact on the internationalisation of business. The reason behind
conducting this research is to gain the knowledge related to technological trends and its affects
on the international business (Elia and et. al., 2021). With the help of this research, the researcher
will highlights the different technologies which can be used by the companies in order to
internationalise their business. It is academically important as it provides knowledge to the
students due to which they can learn and use within their academics. Technological trend is
important within business as it helps in increasing the performance and profitability of business
and also company can create strong customer base (Jean and Tan, 2019). This investigation is
valuable for the researcher as it provides knowledge related to the chosen topic and also
enhances the skills of investigator which will be beneficial in their further research. While
conducting this research, the two main perceptive of the investigation will be achieved such as
personal and professional perspective. The personal perspective of the investigator will be
achieved as they will learn about different research methods whereas professional will be
attained as they learn about different technological trends and its influence on business which
will be helpful in their job role.

Literature Review
Introduction
The term literature review is known to assist the researcher in learning more about the chosen
topic so they may effectively carry out the study Routh and Pal, (2018). In order to give a
thorough solution to the research topic, the researcher organises and evaluates all earlier studies
on the issue. This section aids the researcher in the filling a research gap and revealing the true
nature of the investigation. In that process the secondary data for this section was gathered from
a range of sources, including government websites, business news websites, books, journals, and
internet resources.
To identify the different technological trends within UK retail industry
According to Abe (2021), it can be recognised the many technological changes in the UK retail
sector as social media significantly affects market competition. Social media can be used by
businesses as a platform for connecting with and communicating with their target market. Social
media platforms are regularly used by businesses with the aim of communicating with their
target audience. It leads to increase the business success and profitability and the biggest
influence on how people shop is the fact that the entire world is now connected to the internet.
Due to which the businesses now have a cheaper way to promote their names and goods on
social media (Attaran and Gunasekaran, 2019). Because of this, companies are also adopting
digital transformation to carry out a range of tasks for the future betterment. Because of this, the
company will be able to draw in more clients, and workforce will have more chances to grow
their careers. In relation to retail sector, social media affects online retail sales as well as how it
could increase employee efficiency. Moreover, after the Pandemic the changing preferences of
consumers could be a challenge for the retail industry. As a result, it is crucial for the company to
comprehend market trends and client preferences.
Additionally, the technology is one of the essential elements in order to keep the stores and
operations in a better way as compared to other companies in the market. That is why the
effectiveness and success of the retail sector are influenced by a number of elements including
productivity, shifting consumer behaviour, employee participation, internet purchasing, more
resources, and many others (Haakera dn et.al.,2021).

Another technology trend is PoS Systems and Ecommerce, due to which the retail companies are
able to sell their products online with various services such as same day delivery or online
shipping. Under which the customers will be able to get new ways to place their orders and that
is why it is must to have that technology which helps in handling the both online and offline
store transactions. That is why the main point is to create a successful point in the sale system
that can be done by having a unified and integrated system that fit in with other technologies the
organisation utilises. It can also be said that One of the most significant issues that software
developers work to deal with is integrating online and offline transactions, inventory, and
promotions across all physical locations and also for internet businesses.
The next technology is making use of omni-channel retailing, under which the business can be
managed at both online and physical store. Due to which the customers do not have to wait for
their buying in order to be filled in that situation. A centralised system for monitoring the
inventory available across all platforms used by consumers is the important to all of this. This
trend is getting famous and most of the business have started to adopt it for better performance in
the market. Even after pandemic the preference of the customers in the retail sectors have
changed. As it can be seen that digitalisation is everywhere and which lead to shift the nature of
investment in the company (de Villiers, Kuruppu and Dissanayake, 2021).
Figure 1: Technology trends facing business in 2021 and beyond

To analyse the impact of technological trends on the internationalisation of UK retail business
As said by Delpechitre, Black and Farrish, (2018), technology plays an essential role in the
operations of the retail companies in UK due to the technological trends. With the help of
technological trends, the retail companies are able to achieve a greater reach. Due to which it is
easier for the companies to do attract more customers and do business globally. The retail
business has changed a lot in the last few decades and it has the potential to further expand in the
market. Moreover, the retail sector has grown more competitive and profitable in relation to the
introduction of digital technology, artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and many advanced
analytics that the chosen company makes use to examine and process the data (Hooper and
Holtbrügge, 2020). With the help of such trends the companies are able to bring better
advancement in the company which leads to bring better growth opportunities for the company.
In general, the technological advancements have a substantial impact on the expansion of a
company's consumer base. As the businesses are embracing a variety of technical developments
that is chatbots, smart technology, virtual reality, user-friendly shopping, artificial intelligence,
and many others. As it quickly replaces other elements as one of the primary factors determining
a company's financial performance, digitalization is gaining popularity. Business reach has
increased because to information technology and now it is easier for retail businesses to conduct
global commerce. Global communication is now quicker and more well-organized than ever to
emails, texts, instant messaging, websites, and applications. Digitization is one of the most
significant factors in the process of building relationships with clients subsequently it offers them
access to detailed information (Athanasopoulou and et.al.,2019).
The company is able to communicate better with the employees as they are able to adopt
significant advancements. Due to which the management of the company can access and share
data both within the department and across the entire company. Businesses have used cutting-
edge collaboration tools in order to finish tasks that were previously only completed in person.
This kind of consumer targeting makes sure that the right audience hears the right message at the
right moment. The business will be able to market and advertise its services through the usage of
internet marketing (Jensen, Hedman and Henningsson,2019). Numerous strategies, such as
sponsored promotions, email marketing, social media, videos, and commercials, may be used by
the business. It gives the company the ability to attract customers from all over the world,
increasing awareness of the brand and its products. Additionally, because they use social media

so regularly, most customers prefer to shop online. Social media claims that the most affordable
type of advertising also engages customers in a range of activities. As a result, it is believed that
through utilising advertising, the internet promotes two-way communication.
Figure 2: The Positive Impact of Technology on Business
To determine the benefits availed by UK retail industry while adopting new technologies within
business
As per the view of Love, and Matthews, (2019), there are advantages of implementing the new
technology in the retail industry. These changes directly affect the globalisation of business
because they drastically alter how organisations and nations organise production, generate new
products and processes, trade goods, and make capital investments. One of the main benefits is
that it allows the company advertise about its products or services online. That promotion will
directly elevate the sales level and the customers will prefer that company as compared to other
company. It is advised to the companies to improve their marketing strategies so that they will be
able to attract the customers and the technology allows the retail business to advertise about the
company online so that customers may find it. It can also be said that the customers search online
before making a purchase. Another benefit is customers are able to communicate with the
company in an easy manner. Such as company is having websites which allows to reach the
wider audience and also get option to chat which can be done at any time. It can also be seen that
when a customer interacts with a business through technology, the conversation creates a
stronger and better public image. Along with it the customers can use a range of comments,

reviews and usage statistics to understand the effectiveness of the campaigns which are
published online. By connecting online advertisements to social networking sites, which will also
give a regular stream of honest consumer feedback which will further be used to improve the
relationship between the business and its clients. To achieve client expectations, businesses in
the retail sector must set targets. It can also improve their level of performance at work by setting
corporate goals. Customers may easily access information due to digital advertising, which has
several advantages. The customers will get options like click here for more information about the
company’s services or products for customers. Customers will have access to details such as the
costs of the services and other information. Through the process of globalisation, businesses
might start conducting business globally or increase their international influence. Likewise,
because it encourages links between people and businesses across borders, it is crucial in the
current environment. The result of this is the blending of global politics, culture, and business.
Figure 3: How Does Technology Affect a Business Environment?
To investigate the challenges faced by UK retail industry in the absence of new technologies
during internationalising their business
According to Rastegar, GholamHosseini and Lowe, (2020), there are various difficulties the
UK retail industry which are faced mostly in expanding internationally in the lack of new
technologies. Such as the company finds it difficult to tackle the e-commerce that is why the
company has adopted various strategies to bring better opportunities to serve customer better.

With such strategies the company can take advantage of include improved profitability, adoption
of cutting-edge technology, and a host of other things. As implementing technology trends
improves product efficiency which raises input and the level of profitability. Another issue is that
the difficulties managers at the chosen company’s faced when putting management ideas into
practise. Managers had difficulties finding qualified candidates, poor teamwork, low employee
performance, ineffective working conditions, declining sales and profits, declining productivity,
and numerous confrontations during employee training. Managers had to deal with the fact that
they were unable to meet goals due to these difficulties, which adversely impact the output of the
business. These issues all have an impact on the company's efficiency and performance, which
lowers sales and profitability. Moreover, the management confront multiple difficulties when
putting management ideas into practise at work. Because they are unable to oversee every
employee at once, managers have to deal with frequent disagreements amongst workers. They
are having trouble growing firm productivity since employee underperformance is causing
productivity to decline. They discovered that employees' lack of efficiency and effectiveness at
work had an impact on the productivity of the business. All of these difficulties cause the
company's growth and sales to slow down, which has an impact on every department's operation.
The ability to target the proper audience is one of the primary challenges that businesses must
overcome as the number of mobile users increases daily. Social media has a big impact on the
UK business sector since it increases brand visibility on a global scale. Businesses can use social
media to encourage brand-related transactions, increase brand awareness, and identify the
interests of their target market. By updating effective social media marketing techniques that
boost brand loyalty, traffic, and consumer happiness, it also has an impact on how the business
presents itself and another most crucial elements in creating contacts with clients is digitization.

Figure 4: What Are the 5 Biggest Challenges in 2018 for Retail Operations?

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
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the Covid-19 lockdowns. International Journal of Organizational Analysis.
Athanasopoulou, A., de Reuver, M., Nikou, S. and Bouwman, H., 2019. What technology
enabled services impact business models in the automotive industry? An exploratory
study. Futures, 109, pp.73-83.
Attaran, M. and Gunasekaran, A., 2019. Applications of blockchain technology in business:
challenges and opportunities.
de Villiers, C., Kuruppu, S. and Dissanayake, D., 2021. A (new) role for business–Promoting the
United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals through the internet-of-things and blockchain
technology. Journal of business research, 131, pp.598-609.
Delpechitre, D., Black, H.G. and Farrish, J., 2018. The dark side of technology: examining the
impact of technology overload on salespeople. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing.
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technologies and capabilities in cross-border e-commerce. Journal of Business
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blockchain technology. MIS Quarterly Executive, 18(4).
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Rastegar, S., GholamHosseini, H. and Lowe, A., 2020. Non-invasive continuous blood pressure
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van Tulder, R., Verbeke, A. and Piscitello, L. eds., 2018. International business in the
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