Retail's big 2023 opportunity
Why, why, why?
The big question retailer's should be asking themselves in 2023 is, 'Why?'.
When product transfer can so easily be done online, why does the brick-and-mortar store exist?
Why have store assistants? Other than filling physical space with their warm bodies, what purpose do they serve in a store?
Why are the processes and systems that currently exist still important?
Why, why, why?
Since the pandemic lockdowns, a lot of change has affected the retail category, but retailers themselves have largely elected to simply return to business as usual.
E-commerce has grown, logistics partners are more sophisticated than they were just a few years ago, the competitive landscape has changed considerably (Edgars' collapse, the evolution of Checkers), global inflation is back, large malls are not as enticing for customers as they once were, there are new supply chain issues, Amazon is coming.
The big opportunity for retail in 2023 is to take all of these changes into careful consideration and critically question themselves as to how they plan to be fit-for-purpose in this shifting dynamic.
Ask the right questions and commit to finding an answer that is not always the easiest one.
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Jonathan Cherry
Jon Cherry