Retail sector is ready for changes, showed Retail Summit
Published Retail 3. 4. 2023
Published Retail 3. 4. 2023
A record number of participants attended Retail Summit, the annual meeting of key players in the retail market. Retailers, both online and brick-and-mortar store operators, had the opportunity to exchange experience with their colleagues and suppliers of goods and services.
A total of 1200 participants and 85 speakers have attended this week's Retail Summit 2023 organized by Blue Events and the Confederation of Commerce and Tourism. The main theme of this year was a bet on change. The main program took place on 29th March, the following day it was supplemented by six specialized discussion panels.
„Most companies have an extremely short-sighted view of the future. Often they just derive it from what the present looks like, supposing the future will be approximately the same“, says the main speaker of the conference, Peter Hinssen, a well-known innovation expert and advisor to many companies. According to him, companies should pay more attention to long-term planning and visions. However, innovations should not only be monitored and tested, but also given the space to scale across an organization supported by perfect processes. Not only predatory startups have the best prerequisites for such changes, but also established companies, such as the American Walmart as the best example in the retail ranks.
European retail is also on the verge of change, with up to 1.6% of its revenue expected to be invested in digitalisation, talent development and sustainability by the end of 2030 to maintain the sector competitiveness. According to conservative scenarios, this means up to EUR 315 billion of investments, and even double according to the optimistic ones. For retail, digitization will mean a complete upgrade of IT systems, data protection and automation, but also massive investments in analytics and AI, support of in-store technologies and warehouse management. Readiness for changes was demonstrated in the program by, among others, the bosses of the Tesco, Kaufland and Billa retail chains.
„The customer is still faster adapting to digital sales channels and will expect much more the connection of online and face-to-face interaction. Automation is a chance for a sharp increase in productivity," said Tomáš Prouza, President of the Confederation of Commerce and Tourism of the Czech Republic and Vice-President of EuroCommerce.
If retail is to meet its sustainability and circularity commitments, it must create its own infrastructures for the collection and reuse of materials and significantly reduce energy consumption, including new store concepts. For responsible behaviour, retail must gain over both customers and its suppliers. The appeal for healthy consumption will serve as a strong common theme. The need for new skills and education will mean that up to half of employees per year will have to undergo training.
On Wednesday 29th March evening, the winners of the jubilee 20th year of the Mastercard Retailer of the Year competition were announced at the Retail Summit with dm drogerie markt as absolute winner. In this year's special category "Innovation of the Year – Bet on Change", the Retail Summit audience voted COOP for Self-Service 24/7 Stores Project. The winner of the prestigious O2 Digital Retailer award was Dr.Max.
65 commercial partners, led by Plzeňský Prazdroj, Czech Promotion and Mastercard, presented their products and services directly at the centre. The next 30th Retail Summit will take place on 25–27 March 2024.
Jan Patera
+420 731 421 751
jan.patera@blueevents.eu
www.blueevents.eu
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