The Impact of Digital Technology on the UK Retail Sector: A Case Study

This dissertation investigates the impact of digital technology on the UK retail sector, using Wish as a case study. It examines how digital technologies have reshaped the industry, influencing consumer behavior and business operations. The research includes an overview of the UK retail sector and Wish, research questions, aims, and objectives. It also includes a literature review, research methodology (qualitative and quantitative), findings, and analysis of the impact of digital technology, including both positive and negative aspects. The report concludes with recommendations and a reflective report, discussing the challenges and areas of development. The study highlights the increasing importance of online shopping, e-commerce, and the need for businesses to adapt to the changing digital landscape to remain competitive. The research uses a survey to collect primary data and provides insights into consumer preferences and experiences with online shopping platforms.

A Dissertation
On
What is The Impact of Digital Technology on UK
Retail Sector?
(A Case Study on Wish )
By:
Student Name & ID: Olatunji Ibijoke Shebioba (E10701)
Of
The City College
Unit No: HND Business Management (Unit 8)

Executive Summary
The spot light of this research is on what impact digital technology has on the UK retail sector.
Today, in this technology-oriented world, there is no space for manual processes and the people
are enjoying the trending digital technologies in all the aspects of life. Similarly, the retail sector
is no exception. “Wish , a Retail company is considered for this research. In Chapter 2, it
is observed that the digital technologies give a new dimension to businesses, which adapt such
technologies, and this is concluded as true from the analysis. How the digital technologies can
impact the retail sector when it has essential benefits, is discussed in the report. The UK retail
sector is what the report focuses on. During 2014, the UK’s in-store retail sales saw high
influence by digital technology and there was a changing dynamic between the consumers and
retailers, which is identified by this research. To determine effective results, in-depth analysis is
performed, through a survey named, “Survey Monkey”. The purpose of the research is to review
and examine the impacts of Digital Technology on the UK Retail Sector, where “Wish” is used
for determining the effects. Like, the society keeps changing its trends, digitization is no different
because it constantly transforms and incorporates various factors of everyday life and businesses.
It is necessary to have transformations in digitalization, for the retail industry. Because, the
impacts can affect the growth of the business. The increase in transformation can have high
impact, as retailers provide digital products and services to their consumers. The frequent
changes in the pattern of the business has led to adapt the digital technologies, as it equally
affects the businesses on the changing patterns of consumer consumptions of digital technologies
that is increasingly drastically. For determining the businesses’ ability, the changing aspects of
technology must be known for competing in the retail industry. This research addresses the
challenges that are associated with the integration and use of digital technology in businesses, for
establishing enhanced business communication approach. The objective of this is to concentrate
on Wish, a retail company and determine the effects of digital technology on their business
operations. Subsequently, the analysis is completed, and the important aspects are highlighted.
Qqualitative and Quantitative research methods are used for completing the research. The
findings state that, more people choose their Debit card for making payment for their online
purchases. The results show that maximum number of people have experienced shopping online
with Amazon and eBay, whereas least number of people have had online shopping experience

with “Wish”. The report concludes with the impacts which the digital technology has on the UK
retail sector.
Wish has negative impact from the increased popularity the other companies like Amazon,
eBay etc. which leaves Wish far behind. Thus, the analysis represents that digital technology and
internet has both positive and negative impacts on the retail sector. The UK online shopping is
given more preference and is highly valued, and any mistakes in this service will disturb the
technology service growth of the UK. Finally, important recommendations are suggested based
on the analysis.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - Introduction................................................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Company Overview............................................................................................................................................. 3
1.2 Research Questions............................................................................................................................................. 3
1.3 Aims and Objectives............................................................................................................................................ 4
Chapter 2 - Literature Review.......................................................................................................................................... 5
2.1 Overview................................................................................................................................................................. 5
2.2 Reviewing UK Retail Sector................................................................................................................................ 8
2.3 Reviewing Wish Reviews.......................................................................................................................13
2.4 Summary.......................................................................................................................................................... 13
Chapter 3 - Research Methodology.................................................................................................................................15
3.1 Reason for Selecting this Research Topic...........................................................................................................16
3.2 Ethical Questions.............................................................................................................................................. 16
3.3 Methodology to Calculate Digital Influence.......................................................................................................17
3.4 Impact of Online Shopping................................................................................................................................ 19
3.5 Technology’s impact on Retail Sector................................................................................................................19
3.6 Limitations of the Methodology.........................................................................................................................21
3.7 Summary.......................................................................................................................................................... 21
Chapter 4 - Findings and Analysis.................................................................................................................................. 22
4.1 Reasons for Not Opting Wish to Shop Online........................................................................................35
4.2 Summary.......................................................................................................................................................... 36
Chapter 5 - Conclusion and Recommendation................................................................................................................37
5.1 Conclusion............................................................................................................................................................ 37
5.2 Recommendations............................................................................................................................................. 40
Chapter 6 - Reflective Report......................................................................................................................................... 40
6.1 Areas developed by undertaking this research study?............................................................................................41
6.2 Difficulties Encountered and how I overcame them?..............................................................................................41
6.3 Overall Reflection................................................................................................................................................. 42
Appendix A: A Blank Copy of Qualitative Research Questionnaire......................................................................................42
The Impact of Technology in Retail Business.......................................................................................................42
This survey is to find out what you think of the use of digital technology in retail stores. This is part of
my academic studies. So, thank you for filling it in.........................................................................................43

References...................................................................................................................................................................... 47

Chapter 1- Introduction
With the technology-oriented world, the UK retail industry is changing to the demands and
opportunities of digital technology. The digital technologies are referred as electronic systems
which generates, stores or processes the data. This technology compresses huge information on a
small storage device which can be secured and transported easily. The digitization increases the
speed of data transmission. Today, the world has changed the way people used to communicate,
work, learn and do business. Digital technologies have helped retail businesses reinvent their
businesses in the coming years. As, the digital technology helps to recognize the possible
opportunities for the businesses to adapt, analyze their trade-offs and then adapts these
technologies effectively.
The traditional retail is being changed by the digital technologies. The ownership of consumers
and their engagement with the digital technology is increasing drastically, with an accelerating
speed. This increasing digital lives of the consumers impacts on how the consumers consume
their products and services and it also impacts the way the consumers interact with retailers and
brands. Thus, this research aims to examine the impacts of Digital Technology on the UK retail
sector, using Wish as a case study for determining its effects. In the technology oriented world,
people move with the trends and highly use digital technologies in their day-to-day life. The
retail company named, “Wish” is considered for this research. The companies which adapt the
digital technologies, their new dimension for businesses will be investigated. Additionally, to the
trends, the digitization transforms constantly and incorporates various factors of daily life and
businesses. Digitalization feels important to undergo transformation, as it can have significant
impact on the business growth, if it is not transformed according to the trending demands.
Moreover, the general assumption is the customer service will mainly be impacted. Additionally,
the constant change in the business pattern has paved the way for adapting the digital
technologies. The digital technology is helping the budding and skilled designers to give a
marketplace. The general assumption of digital technology for retail sector is that it could
support to connect with the young fashion graduates with the enthusiastic shoppers via, online
platforms to inspire their creativity (Neves, 2017).
1

Related to the retail industry, various researchers have suggested to determine the ability of the
any business, the changing aspects of technology must be known, to compete. Therefore, this
dissertation deals with the challenges which are associated with the integration and usage of
digital technology in the businesses, to establish enhanced business communication approach.
Further, the researcher realizes that the objective of this report must strictly focus on Wish Retail
Company and conclude the digital technology’s effects on its business operations. To determine
effective results, in-depth analysis is required, which is completed fulfilled by a survey known as
Survey Monkey.
The retailers are investing more on technology for fulfilling the promises to their customers
(O'Shea, 2017). Any company or a business must first understand the digital technology, before
implementing it for reaching the new audiences. However, it cannot be regretted that the new
technologies help in reshaping the retail sector in an unexpectedly interesting way. It is also
noticed that the, the retail sector has stepped into conversational commerce era, where the
artificial intelligence and the chatbots are used for interacting with the customers. This is how the
technology is evolving. Keeping all the benefits in mind, this research highlights the impacts of
digital technology, on retail sector in the UK. The qualitative and quantitative research methods
and sampling have been used for the research. In addition, the report concludes with the impacts
of digital technology, on the UK’s Wish retail sector. As part of the critical analysis, there was
triangulation of the data with the primary research survey, secondary research and the site visits
as part of the aims and objectives of the research. All the impacts are will be discussed. At last,
effective suggestions will be provided depending on the analysis, self-scanning, e-commerce,
pictures and social media.
2

1.1 Company Overview
In 2011, the former programmers of Yahoo and Google, Danny Zhang (CTO) and Peter
Szulczewski (CEO) respectively established the company named, “Wish.” This company
operates a mobile commerce platform for providing online services by offering access to various
affordable goods through media sharing and communication tools, by leveraging world- wide
global supply chain of direct suppliers (Glassdoor.co.in, 2018). Wish has grown to become the
6th largest company of e-commerce in the world, with over 100 million users on their mobile
shopping app. This company comprises of 201-500 workers and its headquarters is located in
San Francisco, CA (US). It is a private company which earns a revenue of $500 million to $1
billion (USD), annually. (Glassdoor.co.in, 2018).
In UK, the Wish retail company has high negative reviews. This company is considered to check
the impact of online shopping.
In 2017, Wish added their outlet to their app, to sell high quality branded goods at low process,
then it added Wish Express which offers fast shipping for their customers. The company
specializes in four shopping applications, such as Mama (family-oriented), Home (decor-
focused), Cute (beauty-focused) and Geek (electronics-focused). The mission of this company is
to provide access to one and all with highly affordable, effective and convenient shopping mall,
around the globe. It also aims to offer smartphone access (digital shopping) to all, with
affordable price products.
1.2 Research Questions
1) What are the impacts of digital technology- the internet- on businesses in the
contemporary context of business management?
2) Has the internet impacted positively or negatively on the retail sector?
3) What are the journal articles findings related to the study being undertaken?
4) What impact does the digital technology have between the consumer and the retailer?
3

5) Which digital devices are utilized by the consumers in various stages of shopping
process?
1.3 Aims and Objectives
Aims
The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of digital technology and internet on the retail
sector focusing on Wish Company. Listed below are the objectives of this research that will be
undertaken.
Objectives
The following are the objectives:
1) To access the effects of digital technology on the UK retail industry.
2) To assess the significance of digital technology usage on the UK retail industry
small to highlight research gap for this project.
3) To evaluate the factors associated with the impact of internet integration in
digital technology on businesses.
4) To highlight the various advantages and disadvantages of the digital technology
on the UK retail industry.
5) To assess the impact of the internet and corresponding integration into UK retail
industry with consideration on the effects on the human resources of businesses.
4

Chapter 2 - Literature Review
2.1 Overview
Today, the consumers have constant connection of internet which provides relative significance
with multi-screen and this factor has changed the way of online and offline shopping. The
retailers with future thinking see new possibilities and the technology can help the retailers to
serve their customers better. The following has changed- Earlier, customers had no knowledge
about the product review, they only relied on the salesperson's advice. But now, things are
different where customers get instant access to reviews of the product via internet, based on
which the decisions are taken. Customers had to personally visit the shops, but now this is no
more required all thanks to online shopping through digital technology. It was difficult to find the
right shop and the right product and earlier such things happened due to coincidence. However,
this is not the case now due to the integration of mobile in to the brick-and-mortar stores, where
the shops can be easily found by the shoppers in the map on the mobiles of the shoppers
(Ramaswamy, 2013).
The literature review is conducted to answer the research questions of this dissertation, which are
specified in the above section, where the topic is retail digitization and its impacts. Various
research and analysis papers have helped me, to complete this report.
Various research has been reviewed. This research relates to the primary research which is
conducted via a website known as, www.surveymonkey.com. The gathered information from the
conducted survey is interlinked with the secondary research in this literature review, to have a
broad view of the topic. The review of the UK retail sector and the company Wish is also
undertaken in this review.
According to previous researches, the first indication of retail digitalization was the creation on
online stores and the increased use of PCs by consumers in the environment. Over the years, the
use of digital technology has increased drastically such as innovations in television and mobile
device which includes tablets and smart phone. As such, these various devices have increased
communication capabilities which has extended to various products and their capabilities (Atzori
et al., 2010). Hence, the changes in consumers buying pattern due to digitalization has meant that
5

there are changes in the way digital technology is used, and this has an immediate effect on
retailing such as communicating with retailers and home electronics such as refrigerators.
The research study of Shankar et al., (2011) argues that digitalization is not restricted to online
stores only as several digital technologies have become part of consumers shopping patterns such
as RFID and digital stores. Furthermore, the recent study of Pantano and Viassone, (2015), states
that digitalization changes the retail settings through the changes occurring in the exchange and
actors, thus affects consumers satisfactions levels as it acts (Poncin and Mimoun, 2014).
However, the study of Doherty and Ellis-Chadwick, (2010) argues that the initial arrival of the
internet was deemed as a threat to brick-and-mortar stores as it posed a threat to replacement of
conventional stores through online purchases. Nonetheless, various studies contradict this in
stating that, the internet can be used as a tool that strengthens and increases physical store
presence (Poncin and Mimoun, 2014; Stein and Ramaseshan, 2016; Pantano, 2016).
According to Guffey and Loewy (2015), communication methods used in business needs to be
considered such as communication between the manufacturers, producers, suppliers, distributors,
retailers, business employees, business managers, service providers and the consumers; including
all the other affiliated stakeholders associated with the respective business. This highlights the
importance of evaluating the impacts of digital technology and the internet on the stakeholders of
the business to assess the respective subject under consideration.
The notion of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become a common
commodity in the business communication and management in the world of today (Dimovski
and Skerlavaj, 2004). Furthermore, the automation of the various business functions and
operations has been developed through the utilisation of the Computer Integrated Management
systems designed for the optimisation of the entailed business systems (Gunasekaran and Ngai,
2004; O'Brien and Marakas, 2005). Moreover, the notion of the ‘E-business’ (electronic
business) establishment has taken a considerable increase over the past couple of decades;
rendering the various associated business functions to be relayed through the electronic mediums
of communication (Lucas and Asnis, 2015; Siapera, 2017). This also includes the notion of
business communication to be established through the electronic medium.
6

According to Boone and Kurtz (2013), it has been asserted that the various managers of business
enterprises tend to spend 80 per cent of the shift time in communicating with the various
associated business stakeholders through the different mediums; including telephonic, e-mails,
messages, one-on-one sessions, and other affiliated modes. Moreover, the advent of the Web 2.0
and the various entailed social media networks has rendered altered paradigms of consumer
behaviour; in terms of increased number of individuals tending to buy products or services online
rather than tangibly visiting stores and outlets (Pozzi, 2009).
This has further enhanced the requirement of increased number of employees tending to cater the
needs of the online services being provided by businesses. Moreover, the establishment of the
customer services of such businesses is also maintained through the internet and online modes of
communications (Bovée et al., 2016). Furthermore, various other related studies conducted
regarding the subject domain (Guffey& Loewy, 2010; Bovée&Thill, 2012; Okoro et al., 2011;
Usunier&Roulin, 2010; Jagongo & Kinyua, 2013) assert the notion of the significance of the
integration of the internet for the establishment of effective business communications in the
context of business management in the modern world of today. This report has helped me to
understand and to know the importance of internet for business communication and
management.
It is stated by Aleksić Marić and Ilić, (2012) that the revolution of IT and the transformation of
industrial society has marked high significance, influence and most comprehensive business
trends, for the emerging modern world. As a global business infrastructure, the rigorous
development of “Internet” according to the researchers has directed to extensive changes in the
business strategy. However, the authors have determined that less attention is given to develop
new models that has capability of management and implementations of the terms of the global,
networked business environment. In world of globalization, there exists new opportunities and
this leads to high pressure on the management. Because, they have to have the skills and
knowledge to attain accomplishment in the global environment. Therefore, the whole paper
examines this issue.
7