This report summarises findings from the Voice of the Industry: Retail survey conducted in July 2023. It offers insights from global retail professionals on their short- and long-term investment priorities, the trends shaping the industry and how they address challenges across different areas. Key topics included the role of post-pandemic stores, digitalisation, cost-of- living's impact, retail media networks, and trends in delivery and fulfilment.
This report comes in PPT.
The cost-of-living crisis remains the foremost factor affecting retail in 2023. Retail professionals are forced to reconsider their operations for cost optimisation while simultaneously delivering value to consumers and cultivating loyalty to maintain competitiveness.
Retailers are actively investing in technology to boost consumer convenience. This includes both offline and online solutions such as autonomous stores, mobile apps and in-store digital enhancements. These tech solutions offer more touchpoints and data collection opportunities, enabling retailers to provide the personalised experiences that align with consumer expectations.
Many retailers are prioritising investments in their own retail media networks in a bid to access valuable first-party data and achieve precise consumer targeting in brand and category promotion. Nevertheless, certain obstacles exist when it comes to implementing these networks, including some disconnect between networks and the merchant side of retailer operations.
In the post-pandemic landscape, enhancing the in-store brand experience remains a top priority for retail professionals. Physical stores now go beyond transactions, providing consumers with convenience, personal interaction, engaging experiences, education and a local community connection.
Digitalisation is a pivotal force shaping all facets of the retail industry. Nearly half of retail professionals view it as a long-term strategic priority and intend to continue investing in it. Despite the fact that this trend has been ongoing for a decade, retailers consistently identify new potential areas that can be improved by harness ing the power of digitalization.
Retail is the sale of new and used goods to consumers from a business for personal or household consumption from retail outlets, kiosks, market stalls, vending, direct selling and e-commerce. Retail is the aggregation of Retail Offline and Retail E-Commerce. Excludes specialist retailers of motor vehicles, motorcycles, vehicle parts. Also excludes fuel sales, foodservice sales, rental transactions, and wholesale sales (e.g. Cash and Carry). Sales value excluding or including VAT/Sales Tax. Retail also excludes the informal retail sector. Informal retailing is retail trade which is not declared to the tax authorities. Informal retailing encompasses (a) sales generated by unregistered and unlicensed retailers, i.e. retailers operating illegally, and (b) any proportion of sales generated by a registered and licensed retailer that is not declared to the tax authorities. Unregistered and unlicensed retailers operate predominantly (although not exclusively) as street hawkers or operate open market stalls, as these channels are harder for the authorities to monitor than permanent outlets. Activities in the illegal market, which is usually understood to refer to trade in illegal, counterfeit or stolen merchandise, are included within our definition of informal retailing. Activities in the “grey market”, which is usually understood to refer to trade in legal merchandise that is sold through unauthorized channels – for example cigarettes bought legally in another country, legally imported, but sold at lower prices than in authorized channels – will be included as informal retailing if no tax is paid on sale by the retailer. However if the retailer pays tax – for example on cigarettes bought legally in another country but sold at a lower price than standard – the sale is included within formal retail.
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