Retail Summit 2015: Customer at a multilevel junction

Program of this prestigious event will show the theme from various perspectives such as new strategies, or innovations of products, services and retail formats. However, the biggest attention will be paid to distribution paths, or channels, i.e. to the search for new paths between producers, retailers and consumers. Namely this area is most affected by the explosion of new technologies that launched the digital and mobile revolution in the retail market.

Retail Summit 2015 covers the topic of building new paths from retailers to consumers in all its complexity. Despite the rapid expansion of e-commerce the key trend is something else – a complete change of shopping behaviour of final consumers. Finding other ways of consumers to products and services is the dominant element of the newly developing market, which after years of the offer domination starts to be driven by demand. And it's not just a simple transition. As Martin Dlouhy from TESCO will explain in his speech, thanks to the possibilities of new technologies, the customer is situated at a complex multi-level crossroad, where he encounters the experiences from various distribution channels. Each of them offers specific advantages and drawbacks, but the consumer demands logically the same service everywhere. What he meets in the area of e-commerce he demands also in the brick &mortar store, and vice versa. If retailers do not know him/her perfectly or do not comply with his/her new requirements, they may easily lose the customer at this crossroad. The consumer will then walk out the path to completely different partners – totally new retail players or even a direct way to producers.

However, as the experience from the most advanced markets shows, the situation is not yet lost for the classic retail. The chances that the new paths of a retailer and consumers meet, is still very high, as evidenced by the results of the U.S. retail industry in the current Christmas season. The winners are so-called omnichannel retailers that are satisfying their customers by consistently linked offer in all channels, from traditional outlets to m-commerce. Retail Summit will bring a series of inspiring examples just to this topic. It will be the matter of the keynote speaker Jörg Wallner from the think tank 2b AHEADas well as the following contributions of major players of the brick&mortar and the Internet retail. The discussion about the new system of paths between the customer and its suppliers will be enriched by the technology companies – for example, speeches of Marek Ruzicka of O2 or Graeme Cooksley of Symphony EYC.

The latter will introduce also the concept of Click & Collect, an important part of omnichannel retailing that allows customers to order online and pick-up the purchase in person at the nearest shop, often with a delivery directly into the car, without the need to leave it (a little taste – see the case study of Slovenian Mercator here).


About Retail Summit 2015
When: 3 - 4 Feb. 2015
Where: Clarion Congress Hotel Prague

More detailed information:
Barbora Krásná, Blue Events
barbora.krasna@blueevents.eu

Media contact:
Aneta Zímová, Blue Events
aneta.zimova@blueevents.eu

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