Oracle Retail Customer Value Organization creates new cloud extensions to support circular commerce, sustainability and other initiatives

To meet consumers’ demand for sustainable living, retailers are embracing the circular economy. A recent global consumer survey found that 60% of consumers agree that it is important for retailers to align their brand values with theirs, including sustainability and ethically sourced material. Retailers have the opportunity to provide customers with what they need while also making a positive difference in the world by selling secondhand or rentable goods.

Global market value for secondhand and resale clothing is increasing rapidly. It is expected to hit 218 billion dollars by 2026 ( Statista). A lack of systems that can support new business models presents a major challenge for retailers looking to adopt sustainable merchandising practices. It is difficult to make informed decisions and achieve sustainability goals when there are many systems that don’t work together or have siloed data. Oracle is committed in developing products and practices that protect the environment and address sustainability issues in retail. This commitment can be seen by the Oracle Supplier Evaluation Cloud Service and the development of a circular retail cloud extension.

The Oracle retail customer value organization worked closely with top fashion retailers in America and Europe to develop a new cloud extension that retailers could quickly adapt to their core business activities. Oracle’s Circular Retail Cloud Extension allows retailers to quickly adopt new buyback and rental practices, and measures the environmental and commercial impact. The extensible and flexible architecture of Oracle Retail Platform makes it possible to deploy two core modules independently.

82% of people are willing to shop second-hand if their disposable income is lower. The Oracle Retail Circular Retail Extension’s “Second Hand” app helps retailers streamline the process of buying back and collecting items for recycling. It also exposes information that can be used to improve supply chain transparency. A store associate can help customers bring items into the store to be bought back. This is possible by using embedded machine learning and AI to facilitate seamless transactions. A handheld device allows the associate to take a picture of the item, then visual search it can extract attributes, locate similar items and assess its condition.

Retailers can use the rental business model to reach new customers and extend garments’ lifespans. The Oracle Retail Circular Retail Extension’s “Rentals” app helps retailers manage the rental process. This includes item availability, pricing model and returns, alerts for customers, quotes, and customer notifications. The rentals dashboard shows key KPIs like the number and percentage of rentals that are active, expired rentals, number of rentals that have been returned, and other important information.

Oracle’s Circular Shopping Cloud Extension allows fashion, apparel, consumer electronics and specialty retailers to generate additional revenue and attract more traffic. It also keeps goods in the economy longer than traditional models.

Oracle Retail Circular Retail Cloud Extension can integrate with Oracle Retail Point-of-Service and Oracle Retail Customers Engagement Cloud Services. Oracle Retail Store Inventory Operations Cloud Service and Oracle Retail Marketing Foundation Cloud Service. It can also be integrated with other solutions, even non-Oracle ones.

source https://blogs.oracle.com/retail/post/oracle-retail-customer-value-organization-circular-commerce-sustainability