Retail futures in the spotlight
At last week’s World Retail Congress, Sir Philip Green said there were too many retail outlets chasing too few shoppers, with the number of customers remaining flat since the financial crisis. “It’s a competitive market place with too many shops,” he noted in a question and answer session at the congress, held in London.
Sir Philip felt the ideal situation for a retailer would be to have a small number of great flagship stores, a few smaller retail properties in key locations, and a presence online. He said retailers had to keep investing in their businesses, refreshing the offering to customers and giving them a reason to shop in their stores.
While Tesco CEO Philip Clarke told the congress that “apps have become the new high street”, and that he expected one in five orders at Tesco this Christmas to be made using mobile phones or tablets, all the speakers acknowledged that physical retail outlets remained key to success. Managing director of Google, Dan Cobley, said the big winners would be traditional retailers who were also able to harness the power of new technology.
Mr. Cobley said new technology such as virtual fitting rooms, iPad checkouts and smart trolleys (that give menu suggestions, dietary guidance etc.) were just some of the ways in which technology would breathe new life into traditional high street stores. But he also noted: “In future we will not think about on-line and off-line – it will be a multichannel world.”
