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Retail

Insight into Retail

 

Susan Olivier - VP of Consumer Goods and Retail, Dassault Systèmes

"The shopper’s experience is evolving. In retail, the lines between manufacturing, retail, domestic and digital spaces are all becoming blurred and out of this, a new shopping culture will emerge."
 

Melissa Gonzalez - Retail strategist and the CEO of The Lionesque Group

“Capital allocation will have a tiered process where flagship destinations will exist in locales where there is evidence that a physical presence is justified or critical 12 months a year. Flagship locations will be complemented with smaller-format, specialty locations anchored around a specific purpose or localized effort. Partnering with department stores will also continue to be reimagined as they restructure and reposition as collaborative marketplaces, and there will be a deeper dedication to pop-in-shop retail."
 

Paco Underhill - Author of Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping

“The future of the Internet as I see it: convergence. It may sound a little sci-fi, but all I’m talking about is the linkup between the physical world and mobile technology and the web—an improved union between stores, the online world, and mobile phones."
 

Matt Marcotte - Senior Vice President, Industry Go-To-Market

“Imagine playing Fortnite and dressing your avatar in real-world designer gear through the game – and then being able to purchase those items for yourself from those designers as you play."
 

Sam Langley Swain - Strategy Director, Green Room Design

“Retail in 2025 will be all about multi-sensory social sanctuaries. Digital will be able to give us convenience through rapid delivery and immersion through VR so retail spaces will be the place to go for physical, face to face interactions that either excite or relax."
 

Andre Wegner - Founder & CEO, Authentise

“What’s really exciting is this curveball in the retail industry. We will go from the transition of knowing we want something and thinking it's available, to knowing we want something and getting exactly what we want. There will be a freedom of movement of thought."
 

Deb Gabor - CEO and Founder, Sol Marketing

"Personal shopping services was a trend we were starting to see pre-COVID, and the pandemic has accelerated the process of adoption. Local and small retailers are especially well suited to these kinds of personalized experiences and are leading the charge in the category."
 

Omri Traub - CEO and founder of Popcart

“With continued shortages of workers within select domains, automation investments will continue to increase. Examples for small business include online pricing automation to balance profitability and revenue growth, as well as inventory management systems to ensure the perfect amount of inventory is on hand."
 

Marc Poulin - Former CEO, Sobeys

"Growth will be slow initially, but ramp up quickly. Smaller retailers will start to close, reducing consumer options and driving more people online."
 

Shelley Broader - President and CEO, Chico’s FAS

“Physical stores will take on new and nontraditional roles. We may see some emerge as service or return centers in order to keep the customers coming in."
 

Richard Wolff - Managing director and UK retail lead at Accenture Strategy

“The most recent disruptive force – digital innovation – is proving to be the biggest challenge yet. The problem is retailers have invested along with the digital trend, instead of trying to get ahead of it."
 

Nick Harrison - Senior partner and global retail practice co-lead at analyst Oliver Wyman

“Retail does have a bright future, but the successful retailers of the future will be very different to today. The retailers which thrive in the future will offer customers something unique."
 

Will Robinson - Technology Director at Advanced Supply Chain

“When you are shopping on retail platforms, you are giving them [retailers] a huge amount of information. If you can crunch those numbers against an AI platform, they can start making accurate predictions, backed up by very targeted advertising on social media. That’s incredibly powerful."
 

Carl Reader - Author of The Startup Coach and founder of fintech start-up TaxGo

“The advent of the Internet of Things (IoT) is likely to radically change the way consumers shop, further removing human intervention. Ultimately, I believe self-driving vehicles will be one of the biggest changes, where products can be delivered without the need for human input."
 

Stan Laegreid - MG2 Design

“The millennials are living up to their reputation as disrupters. They seem focused on their health, and use technology to chronicle their every movement — up to 75% monitor their daily activities. I think we’ll see more yoga studios, athleisure retailers, spas. Outdated spaces present an opportunity to create wellness zones, activity centres and collections of health and wellness product lines within existing shopping centres."
 

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